§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in theOfficial Report the most recent annual estimate for the take up of rent rebates and allowances and what the saving in expenditure was in that year because not all those entitled to rent rebates and allowances claimed.
§ Mr. StanleyEstimated take-up rates for England and Wales for the financial year 1977–78 are as follows:
Rent Rebates Around 80 per cent. Rent Allowances (Unfurnished tenancies) Around 55 per cent. The total value of unclaimed benefit for that year is estimated at about £20 million for rent rebates and at about £10 million for rent allowances in the unfurnished sector. The above figures relate to tenants receiving rent assistance direct from local authorities, and exclude tenants receiving it indirectly via the supplementary benefit system. Estimates relating to rent allowances in the furnished sector are not available.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in theOfficial Report how many of the families receiving rent rebates or allowances 656W are one-parent families and how many families are two-parent families.
§ Mr. StanleyIt is estimated that some 200,000 families with dependent children in England and Wales received rent rebates in 1978. A breakdown of this estimate according to one-parent and two-parent families cannot be made with confidence, but it seems that one-parent families could account for some 50,000 out of the 200,000. No reliable estimate can be made in the case of rent allowances.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in theOfficial Report the numbers of families receiving rent rebates or allowances who have one, two, three, four or five or more children.
§ Mr. StanleyIt is estimated that some 200,000 families with dependent children in England and Wales received rent rebates in 1978. A breakdown of this estimate according to family size cannot be made with confidence, but the following distribution is an approximate estimate.
Estimated number receiving Rent Rebate in England and Wales (thousands) Families with— One child … … … 60 Two children … … … 60 Three children … … … 50 Four children … … … 20 Five or more children … … … 10 The above figures relate to tenants receiving rent assistance direct from local authorities and exclude tenants receiving it directly via the supplementary benefit system.
No reliable estimate can be made in the case of rent allowances.