§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many owner-occupiers in the last year for which information is available were refused a supplementary benefit housing allowance on the grounds that they were neither paying rent nor mortgage interest; and what are estimated, in such cases, to be their average annual costs of housing repair or upkeep.
§ Mr. DeanNone. If an owner-occupier pays no mortgage interest or ground rent, he is still entitled to an addition in respect of "net rent" as defined in the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966, which includes in particular rates and a reasonable allowance towards necessary expenditure on repairs or insurance.