§ 21. Mr. McCartneyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland in view of the hardship of low income group tenants in the new towns as a result of recent rent increases, if he will instruct the development corporations of the new towns to submit modified schemes of rent rebate to conform with the Government's policy that rent increases shall not be more than £39 in any one year.
§ Mr. YoungerNo tenant will have his standard rent increased by more than £32 in the first year or £39 in subsequent years; and because of the protection given by the rent rebate scheme no tenant whose household income is low should have to pay actual rent increases higher than these amounts.
§ Mr. McCartneyDoes the Under-Secretary realise that in practice new town tenants in the lower income group will be asked to pay higher figures than he has given?
§ Mr. YoungerIf the hon. Gentleman can produce to me any more evidence of this I will be glad to look at it. As he knows from the provisions in the Act, these are the limits laid down and they should be observed. I am sure he will have noticed that under paragraph 16 of the Second Schedule to the Act there are transitional relief arrangements to limit increases for people who find the new scheme less advantageous than the old to amounts of 30p per week during the transitional period. Altogether this amounts to a very fair protection for those on low incomes.