§ Mr. McMahonasked. the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing average rents, including private sector rents, in each of the main Scottish regions and average domestic rates charged by each of the Scottish local authorities.
§ Mr. RifkindInformation on the overall average level of rent including both public and private sectors is not available by region within Scotland. An estimate based on the general household survey puts the average level of all-category rents for Scotland at £5.20 per week in 1979, subject to a wide margin of uncertainty for sampling error.
Information is available by region on the average rents of local authority and New Town tenants as at 1 April 1981, and is given in the following table:
Region Average Weekly Rent £ Scotland 7.72 Borders 8.27 Central 6.76 Dumfries 8.09 Fife 8.61 Grampian 6.40 Highland 7.83 Lothian 8.64 Strathclyde 7.78 Tayside 6.81 Orkney 8.50 Shetland 7.84 Western Isles 9.04 Estimates of average domestic rates by districts for 1981–82 is given in the following table. Domestic water rate has not been included.
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District Average Rate £ Berwickshire 170.00 Ettrick and Lauderdale 164.23 Roxburgh 171.41 Tweeddale 169.58 Clackmannan 207.99 Falkirk 203.13 Stirling 274.42
District Average Rate £ Annandale and Eskdale 161.59 Nithsdale 174.74 Stewartry 174.00 Wigtown 150.19 Dunfermline 205.69 Kirkcaldy 207.72 North East Fife 223.76 Aberdeen 211.98 Banff and Buchan 145.15 Gordon 159.55 Kincardine and Deeside 164.61 Moray 155.61 Badenoch and Strathspey 185.80 Caithness 137.22 Inverness 225.11 Lochaber 190.80 Nairn 216.44 Ross and Cromarty 171.16 Kyle and Lochalsh 116.33 Sutherland 124.82 East Lothian 383.59 Edinburgh 353.36 Midlothian 351.09 West Lothian 318.38 Argyll and Bute 236.88 Bearsden and Milngavie 434.42 Clydebank 244.83 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth 273.86 Cumnock and Doon Valley 219.05 Cunninghame 269.25 Dumbarton 314.74 East Kilbride 270.00 Eastwood 382.59 Glasgow 253.35 Hamilton 296.42 Inverclyde 272.15 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 253.08 Kyle and Carrick 313.39 Lanark 244.05 Monklands 275.87 Motherwell 260.29 Renfrew 281.57 Strathkelvin 297.62 Angus 176.65 Dundee 238.87 Perth and Kinross 187.45 Orkney 75.74 Shetland 94.17 Western Isles 110.58
§ Mr. McMahonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many council house tenants receive financial aid towards rents; and, of these, how many receive 100 per cent. assistance (a) in Glasgow and (b) throughout Scotland:; what is the annual cost of this aid throughout Scotland; and if he will give figures for 1977 to 1981 inclusive.
§ Mr. RifkindThe information requested is given in the following tables:
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Local Authority Tenants Receiving Rebates on 30 September Glasgow Scotland 1977 36,314 195,945 1978 36,740 200,744 1979 35,819 201,476 1980 35,916 210,826
Local Authority Tenants Receiving 100 per cent. Rebates on 30 September Glasgow Scotland 1977 Not available 1978 5,501 41,313 1979 5,013 36,035 1980 3,690 30,215
Total Cost of Rebates (Scotland) £ million 1977–78 26.9 1978–79 29.0 1979–80 32.4 1980–81 39.3 1980 is the latest year for which I have information about the numbers of tenants receiving rebates.
Other tenants have received housing cost support by way of supplementary benefit; any question as to that should be directed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.