§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the cost in tax relief of each dwelling let under the business expansion scheme; and what estimates he has made of the amount of capital gains tax which will be lost if and when these are sold;
(2) how many dwellings let under the business expansion scheme were specifically let for the university sector; and what the proportion of business expansion scheme dwellings are assured exit schemes;
(3) how many new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme there were in (a) each region and (b) the United Kingdom as a whole; and what percentage these figures represent of (i) all privately rented property and (ii) all rented property, for each year of its existence.
§ Mr. DorrellThe average cost per dwelling of providing BES income tax relief is estimated to be about £17,500 for lettings made between 1988 and 1992. It is not possible to give a reliable estimate of the cost of exempting gains arising from disposals of BES shares from capital gains tax. Any gains arising from the sale of properties owned by BES companies are, of course, subject to corporation tax in the usual way. Information is not available centrally from administrative sources on the number of dwellings let under the BES for the university sector or the proportion of dwellings which are let through assured exit schemes. However, information from independent analysts suggests that of the total amount of investment made through BES assured tenancy public offers about 30 per cent. was invested in accommodation let for academic establishments and about 60 per cent. was in assured exit schemes. Reliable estimates by regions are available for years up to 1991–92. These and preliminary estimates for the United Kingdom total in 1992–93 are shown in the table.
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New Lettings as a percentage of: Total number1 All privately rented property All rented rented property (per cent.) (per cent.) 1988–89 England: South-East 2,200 0.33 0.09 East Anglia 300 0.33 0.11 South-West 300 0.14 0.06 West Midlands 300 0.22 0.04 East Midlands 400 0.29 0.08 Yorkshire and Humberside 400 0.25 0.06 North-West 1,100 0.61 0.13 North 200 0.21 0.04 Wales 400 0.47 0.11 Scotland 800 0.58 0.07 Northern Ireland neg neg neg United Kingdom 6,400 0.33 0.08 1989–90 England: South-East 1,200 0.17 0.05 East Anglia 100 0.10 0.04 South-West 100 0.05 0.02 West Midlands 100 .07 0.01 East Midlands 200 0.14 0.04 Yorkshire and Humberside 400 0.24 0.06 North-West 500 0.27 0.06 North neg neg neg Wales neg neg neg Scotland 400 0.30 0.04 Northern Ireland 100 0.45 0.05 United Kingdom 3,100 0.15 0.04 1990–91 England: South-East 2,500 0.31 0.10 East Anglia 1,100 1.05 0.40 South-West 500 0.22 0.09 West Midlands 100 0.07 0.01 East Midlands 400 0.28 0.08 Yorkshire and Humberside 100 0.06 0.01 North-West 500 0.26 0.06 North neg neg neg Wales neg neg neg Scotland 100 0.08 0.01 Northern Ireland 400 1.82 0.20 United Kingdom 5,700 0.27 0.07 1991–92 England: South-East 4,100 0.50 0.17 East Anglia 300 0.27 0.11 South-West 1,100 0.47 0.20 West Midlands 100 0.06 0.01 East Midlands 700 0.49 0.14 Yorkshire and Humberside 400 0.22 0.06 North-West 1,300 0.65 0.15 North 100 0.10 0.02 Wales 500 0.52 0.14 Scotland 100 0.07 0.01 Northern Ireland 800 3.64 0.41 United Kingdom 9,300 0.42 0.12 1992–93 United Kingdom 24,000 1.08 0.30 1 Estimates rounded to nearest 100.