asked the Minister for Local Government the total number of local authority dwellings under construction, at the tender stage and at the planning stage at 31st December 1975, and at 31st December 1976; and the percentage change.

In the local authority housing construction programme, work was in progress on 8,376 dwellings at 31st December, 1975, and on 8,281 dwellings at 31st December, 1976, a percentage change of 1.1, due to output in 1976 exceeding the designated target of 6,500 completions by 763 dwellings. Four thousand, seven hundred and thirty-seven dwellings were at tender stage at 31st December, 1975, as compared to 4,392 at 31st December, 1976, a percentage change of 7.3 because starts in the last quarter of 1976 were 2,553 as compared to 1,248 in the last quarter of 1975.

Eighteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty-five dwellings were at the planning stage at 31st December, 1975, as compared to 15,843 at 31st December, 1976, while additional sites available at 31st December, 1975, comprised 53,729 as compared to 56,388 at 31st December, 1976. There was a transfer between April, 1976, and May, 1976, by the housing authorities concerned of 1,292 sites from the "planning" category to the "additional sites available" category. Adjusted to take account of this transfer, the percentage change of dwellings in planning at 31st December, 1975, as compared to 31st December, 1976, was 10.5.

Might I ask the Minister whether the statistics in relation to each of the years in question, and in particular those relating to the number of local authority dwellings under construction, were compiled in the same way?

Yes; I have explained the one change that has taken place.

Otherwise they were compiled on the same basis?

Yes.