HC Deb 25 October 1976 vol 918 cc32-6W
Mr. Douglas-Mann

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish figures showing, region by region, the current average level of rents for houses in the public sector before and after rebates and the average level of wages in manual employment in those regions and the relationships of the former figures to the latter, expressed in percentage terms; and whether he will publish similar figures for the last eight years.

Mr. Armstrong

The available information, which permits only broad comparison because of the timing of the two sets of figures, is as follows:—

AVERAGE WEEKLY UNREBATED LOCAL AUTHORITY RENT* AND AVERAGE WEEKLY MALE MANUAL EARNINGS† ENGLAND AND WALES: BY REGION: 1968–1975
South East East Anglia South West West Midlands East Midlands Yorkshire and Humberside North West North Wales England and Wales‡
1968
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 2.33 1.74 1.97 1.92 1.52 1.59 1.65 1.47 1.89 1.90
(1.90)§
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 23.99 21.21 21.35 24.14 22.27 21.70 22.72 22.06 22.91 23.20
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 9.7 8.2 9.2 8.0 6.8 7.3 7.3 6.7 8.2 8.2
(8.0)
1969
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 2.52 1.82 2.04 2.05 1.68 1.70 1.82 1.63 2.00 2.04
(2.00)§
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 25.87 22.72 22.86 26.12 23.69 23.42 24.35 24.25 24.46 25.00
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 9.7 8.0 8.9 7.8 7.1 7.3 7.5 6.7 8.2 8.2
(8.0)
1970
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 2.78 1.97 2.23 2.20 1.86 1.87 1.96 1.80 2.12 2.23
(2.20)§
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 29.05 25.90 26.02 29.49 26.91 26.43 27.88 27.18 27.93 28.24
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 9.6 7.6 8.6 7.5 6.9 7.1 7.0 6.6 7.6 7.9
(7.8)
1971
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 3.13 2.16 2.43 2.43 2.02 2.02 2.23 2.08 2.39 2.48
(2.40)§
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 32.51 28.70 28.79 31.72 29.34 28.75 30.57 30.30 31.10 31.10
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 9.6 7.5 8.4 7.7 6.9 7.0 7.3 6.9 7.7 8.0
(7.9)
1972
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 3.43 2.68 2.79 2.60 2.34 2.23 2.39 2.32 2.64 2.75
(2.71)
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 37.18 34.68 33.50 37.21 34.26 33.64 35.48 35.12 35.61 35.96
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 9.2 7.7 8.3 7.0 6.8 6.6 6.7 6.6 7.4 7.6
(7.5)
1973
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 4.09 3.26 3.50 3.30 2.99 2.88 3.19 2.97 3.25 3.44
(3.13)
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 42.30 39.05 38.85 42.03 39.38 39.06 40.28 40.05 40.52 41.03
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 9.7 8.3 9.0 7.9 7.6 7.4 7.9 7.4 8.0 8.4
(7.6)

South East East Anglia South West West Midlands East Midlands Yorkshire and Humberside North West North Wales England and Wales‡
1974
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 4.44 3.59 3.73 3.69 3.37 3.32 3.61 3.30 3.44 3.78
(3.31)
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 50.57 46.56 45.98 49.40 46.44 46.69 47.91 47.77 47.55 48.68
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 8.8 7.7 8.1 7.5 7.3 7.1 7.5 6.9 7.2 7.8
(6.8)
1975
Local authority rent (£) (a) … 4.84 3.95 4.30 3.96 3.91 3.61 3.90 3.64 4.00 4.16
(3.68)
Manual earnings (£) (b) … 61.42 56.74 55.99 58.95 56.61 57.54 58.80 61.44 58.19 59.46
(a) as a percentage of (b) … 7.9 7.0 7.7 6.7 6.9 6.3 6.6 5.9 6.9 7.0
(6.2)
* Rents relate to March in 1968, 1969 and 1970, April in 1971, 1972,1974 and 1975 and May in 1973.
† Earnings relate to October in each year and are for male manual workers aged 21 and over.
‡ Figures in brackets are based on average rebated rents. (Available for England and Wales only.)
§ Estimated.