§ Mr. Roebuckasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what estimate he has made of the average weekly increase in council house rents needed for existing dwellings in shillings on the basis that housing subsidies to each of the 32 London boroughs stated separately are abolished excepting old people's accommodation; and what is the weekly increase needed to offset the subsidy on dwellings under construction on 1st January, 1970.
§ Mr. Denis HowellI estimate that the cost to Harrow Borough Council of abolishing housing subsidies for existing dwellings, excepting old people's accommodation, would, in 1969–70, be equivalent to an average increase in council house rents of about 10s. a week.
If subsidies were withdrawn from dwellings under construction on 1st January, 1970, the cost might be equivalent to rent increases in the range of 60s. to 80s. a week if applied only to the rents of those dwellings, or in the range 8s. to 10s. a week if pooled over the whole of the authority's housing stock.
Comparable figures for the London Borough of Lewisham were given in my reply on 13th March to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Dickens). Calculations for other London boroughs have not yet been made.—[Vol. 797, c. 411–2.]