§ Mr. Scott-Hopkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average weekly rent excluding rebates paid by tenants of private dwelling houses in England and Wales owned by local authorities in 1967, 1972, and 1977.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe information is as follows:
RENT REBATES AND ALLOWANCES—ENGLAND AND WALK* FINANCIAL YEAR 1977–78 Rent rebates Rent allowances Cost £ million Number of recipients '000 Cost £ million Number of recipients '000 Direct recipients … … 181 1,000 38 210 Indirect recipients … … 175 1,070 47 370 Total … … 356 2,070 85 580 The figures for indirect recipients cover only those tenants who receive supplementary benefit—SB—and for whom local authorities reimburse DHSS for the rent rebate/allowance element of the SB payment. An additional 190,000 local authority tenants, and 150,000 private tenants, receive help with their rents through supplementary benefit but are not included in the DHSS reimbursement arrangements. The costs are provisional.