§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the reduction in mortgage interest relief will be in 1994–95 and 1995–96 for a taxpayer on the average income for households with a mortgage, and with an average mortgage, as a result of measures announced in the March and November 1993 Budgets; and whether this information can be broken down to produce figures for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions;
(2) what the reduction in mortgage interest relief will be in 1994–95 and 1995–96 for a taxpayer on average earnings with an average mortgage as a result of measures announced in the March and November 1993 Budgets; and whether this information can be broken down to produce figures for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions.
§ Mr. Dorrell[holding answer 26 January 1994]: Assuming current levels of mortgage interest rates, the reduction in relief on the average mortgage of £30,000 will be £115.50 a year in 1994–95 and a further £115.50 in 1995–96. For those mortgagors who have mortgages of less than £30,000—about half of all mortgagors—the reduction in relief will be lower. A person with an average mortgage is benefiting by £1,920 a year as a result of the reduction in interest rates since 1990. Forecasts of the average size of mortgages in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions are not available.