§ Mr. Robert C. Brownasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will give the actual and percentage increase in the average costs of occupying a private rented house, a council rented house and a privately owned house over the past year; and if he will give comparable figures for the last five years;
(2) what has been the average increase in the rents of council house tenants since May 1979; what percentage this represents; and if he will seek to impose a moratorium on council house rents for the whole of the current year.
§ Mr. StanleyI shall answer these questions shortly.
§ Mr. Robert C. Brownasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) the county of Tyne and Wear are (i) in receipt of rent rebates and (ii) in receipt of rate rebates.
§ Sir George YoungAt May 1981, 12, 013 people in Newcastle and 40, 962 people in Tyne and Wear—excluding North Tyneside who did not complete their return in this respect—were in receipt of rent rebates. 321W Between 1 April 1980 and 31 March 1981, 23, 164 people in Newcastle and 86, 262 people in Tyne and Wear received rate rebates.