§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average percentage of net income at present devoted to housing by an average council tenant and the corresponding figure for the average house purchaser taking advantage of the option mortgage scheme.
§ Mr. MacCollThe precise information requested is not available.
On the basis of the small sample covered by the Family Expenditure Survey, 1967, the average net rent in that year of council tenants in England is estimated to have been about 13 per cent. of the average gross income of the head of the household. At present the annual charges on an averaged sized option mortgage for a 25-year term are estimated to be about 18 per cent. of the average income, as recorded by building societies, of house purchasers using the Option Mortgage Scheme in Great Britain.