§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on(a) the total number of mortgages held in Wales, (b) the number of mortgages between 3 and 5 months in arrears, (c) the number of mortgages between 6 and 12 months in arrears, (d) the number of mortgages over 12 months in arrears and (e) the number of repossessions in each year from 1981.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesInformation on the total number of mortgages held in Wales and on mortgage arrears are not available centrally. However, according to the 1991 census of population there were in April 1991, 440,584 owner-occupied dwellings with residents where the dwelling was being purchased through a mortgage or loan. This includes those who were buying in stages from a council, housing association or new town (under shared ownership, co-ownership or equity-sharing schemes).
For repossessions, information is only available for the numbers of repossession orders made following mortgage possession actions entered in county courts in Wales from 1987 and is shown in the following table. The figures do not indicate how many dwellings have been repossessed through the courts as not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
311W
Repossession orders made following mortgage actions1 Number 1987 2,978 1988 3,058 1989 2,799 1990 4,962 1991 7,415 21992 7,076 Source: Lord Chancellor's Office
1 Figures include suspended orders, whereby the mortgagers are given an opportunity to clear their debts.
2 Provisional