§ Mr. Altonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on rent increases in the public sector.
Mr. Geoffrey FisnbergI refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave him on Thursday 12 July, in which I explained that local housing authorities already have discretion to fix their own rent levels. The same applies to new towns. Registered housing associations are limited to fair rents set by the rent officer.