HC Deb 05 December 1969 vol 792 cc399-400W
Mr. Lawler

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the amounts of supplementary benefit paid in respect of rent to owner-occupiers, tenants of private landlords and local authority tenants, respectively, in the year 1968–69.

Mr. O'Malley

It is not possible to say how much of any given expenditure on supplementary benefit was paid in respect of rent, since the benefit paid is the amount of the difference between a person's resources and his requirements, including rent. It is estimated however that in November, 1968, the amount allowed for rent in supplementary benefit assessments was running at the rate of some £190 million a year, of which about £20 million was for owner occupiers—rates, mortgage interest, repairs and insurance—£65 million for tenants of private landlords and the remainder for tenants of local authorities.