§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals in Scotland are currently receiving mortgage tax relief; what estimates he has of the regional distribution of mortgagors and mortgage interest relief in each year since 1988; and what is the current cost to the Exchequer of paying mortgage interest relief in Scotland; [27369]
(2) what was the cost of mortgage tax relief (a) at basic rate and (b) in excess of the basic rate in 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96. [27370]
§ Sir George Young[holding answer 9 June 1995]: Information for the years 1988–89 to 1992–93 was published in table 5.3 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1994". Updated figures for 1993–94 and figures for 1994–95 are given in the tables.
Cost of mortgage interest tax relief and numbers of mortgagors, by region and country: Amounts: £ million Cost 1993–94 1994–951 Northern 200 160 Yorkshire 300 240 North West 430 350 East Midlands 280 230 West Midlands 340 280 East Anglia 170 140 Greater London 580 470 Other South East 1,090 890 South West 400 320 England 3,790 3,080 Wales 150 130 Scotland 300 240 Northern Ireland 60 50 United Kingdom 4,300 3,500 1 Provisional.
Numbers: thousands1 Mortgagors 1993–94 1994–951 Northern 560 570 Yorkshire 840 850 North West 1,190 1,200 East Midlands 730 740 West Midlands 910 920 East Anglia 380 380 Greater London 1,060 1,070 Other South East 2,120 2,140 South West 890 900 England 8,680 8,770 Wales 450 450 Scotland 720 730 Northern Ireland 150 150 United Kingdom 10,000 10,100 1 Provisional. No mortgage interest relief in excess of the basic rate is available for the years specified. In 1994–95 the rate of relief was 20 per cent. and in 1995–96 the rate of relief is 15 per cent. The estimated total cost of mortgage relief 10W in 1995–96 is about £2.8 billion with about 10.1 million married couples and single people receiving the relief. This is based on the assumption, by convention, of no change from the current estimated average building society interest rate of 8 per cent. The regional distribution for 1993–94 is a broad estimate based on analyses of family expenditure surveys up to 1993. The regional distribution for 1994–95, which is shown in the table, is a projection based on applying the same regional percentages to the total figures for 1994–95. It is not possible to provide reliable estimates of regional distributions for 1995–96.