As a matter of fact, I was given this figure by one of the officials of the Edinburgh Corporation two or three days ago. I am giving it in good faith, and whether it is 30,000 or 50,000 it is still considered.

When we realise the enormous job to be done, the inadequacy of this allocation for next year becomes even more pronounced. I fully realise the difficulties, which my hon. Friend is up against today. But in spite of those difficulties I want to press upon them with all the earnestness that I can the necessity to give this matter further consideration. It seems to me that it is most unwise to try to deal with this problem in this fashion, because in the long run it costs us more in health, more for police, prisons, and reformatories. It seems to me that one of the best ways in which we can eventually save money over a long period of time is to tackle this problem much more vigorously.

As housing progress declined, so have the number of men engaged on site preparation and house erection in Edinburgh fallen. In March, 1948, there were 2,331 men employed in the building of houses and in site preparation in Edinburgh. By 14th September this year the number had fallen to 876, or one-third of the number formally engaged. Even when we exclude those who were formerly engaged on the building of temporary houses and those on the preparation of sites, the number engaged in the actual erection of permanent houses has fallen during the same period from 1,087 to 769. That drop is, of course, very serious.