§ Mr. Jesselasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate, nationally and for the Twickenham constituency, of the total number of households, the number of private tenancies, and the number of tenants eligible for rent allowances, and the take-up figure for these allowances.
§ Mr. KaufmanThere are an estimated 17.2 million households in England and Wales, of which about 2.5 million and 0.8 million, respectively, are private tenants in unfurnished and furnished accommodation. These numbers include tenants who are not covered by the rent allowance scheme; for example, those who occupy their accommodation under a contract of service. Apart from those receiving supplementary benefits, about 100,000 unfurnished and 8,000 furnished tenants were receiving rent allowances in December 1973. It is estimated that 585W 500,000 to 600,000 tenants in the unfurnished sector are eligible for allowances but no estimate is available for the furnished sector.
The hon. Member is advised to contact the local authority for information concerning the Twickenham constituency.
§ Mr. Jesselasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken and what action he intends to take, nationally and in the Twickenham constituency, to publicise and encourage the take-up of rent allowances by private tenants who are entitled to receive them.
§ Mr. KaufmanPress and television advertising by the Government for the rent allowance scheme has been extensive, both nationally and regionally. Local authorities will be invited to participate
£ million 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 estimate Grants to the British Railways Board Grants to unremunerative rail passenger services 60.5 65.2 66.3 81.7 112.7 Surplus track grant … … … … 12.0 7.5 8.5 1.8 1.6 Research and development … … … 1.1 1.6 1.4 1.8 2.4 Special compensation for price restraint … — — 27.0 — — Grant for improvements to automatic level crossings 0.7 0.1 — — — Repayment of SET and payment of REP … 31.1 20.2 14.8 0.6 0.3 Special grant to cover cashflow shortfall … — — 42.0 95.0 190.2 Grants to the British Waterways Board Grant in aid … … … … 1.9 2.9 3.1 3.8 4.3 Grant towards expenditure on bridges … 1.2 0.7 1.2 1.3 1.3 Grants to the National Bus Company Grants in respect of rail replacement bus services — 0.3 0.1 — — Special compensation for price restraint … — — 7.0 — — Grants to the National Freight Corporation Freight sundries grant … … … 12.4 8.0 3.7 1.6 — Other grants to public transport New bus grant … … … … 5.8 10.7 20.0 24.3 22.7 Bus fuel grant … … … … 21.1 21.3 21.0 20.1 21.6 Rural bus and ferry grant … … … — 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.7 Infrastructure grant … … … … 4.7 5.2 24.7 34.3 48.7