the dollar from 1947 onwards, a programme costing 60 per cent of government income was severely cut back. Production of the major types by local authorities continued until 1947, but only 170,000 of the 500,000 units promised were completed by 1951, when Churchill's new Conservative government took over. The prefab programme did not contribute greatly to the one million homes that the Attlee government succeeded in building. Pre-cast Reinforced Concrete Despite the construction of 156,622 temporary housing programme prefabs the United Kingdom still faced an acute housing shortage, and waiting lists soared in urban areas. Local authorities then took the lead in building new homes despite a shortage of materials and the hard winter of 1947. New estates were created and established ones expanded. To meet the shortage and bring the cost of housing down, a new form of construction was pioneered, commonly called ‘PRC’ (Pre-cast Reinforced Concrete). Pre-cast Reinforced Concrete houses were largely made from concrete panels reinforced with steel then bolted together or constructed with a steel frame. They were quick to assemble and required less skilled labour than traditional build. Different builders marketed new PRC designs such as the Airey, the Cornish, the Wates, the Unity, the Reema, the Tarran- a development of the Tarran THP design, the Woolaway and Parkinson types. The city of Leeds built the highest number of PRCs. They were similar to the prefabs in that they were built by non-traditional methods from components made in a factory but unlike the prefabs they were permanent, having a 60-year expected life. The construction of these new quick-build houses seemed like part of the solution to the housing crisis at the time. From 1945 to 1955, 1.5 million homes were completed, relieving some of the housing demand. The percentage of people renting from local authorities had risen from 10 per cent in 1938 to 26 per cent in 1961. Total production NOTES: LS - Precast Concrete, Large Slab PP&P - Precast Concrete, Pier & Post House types When the Ministry of Works opened up the design competition, some 1,400 designs were submitted. Reviewed by the Building Research Station, many were rejected from the conceptual stage, such as the British Powerboat Company's proposal for the Jicwood all laminated plywood design; while others were only dismissed after the prototype stage, such as the steel framed Riley. However, a few were approved after testing for construction. Portal (THP