§ Mr. Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was (a) the staffing establishment and (b) the staff actually in post at the Development Land Tax Office on each of the following dates: 6 August 1976, 1 January 1977, 1 January 1978, 1 January 1979, 3 May 1979 and 1 November 1979; and what is the authorised establishment level for 1 January 1980.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 12 November, c. 420]: Following is the information:
with the maximum mortgage allowable now and five years ago, over the normal life of the mortgage on a dwelling costing £10,000 five years ago and a dwelling costing £20,000 now, if the owner were earning the average industrial wage of the appropriate time and had: (a) a wife and two children and (b) a wife and four children.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 12 November 1979, c. 422]: The figures for both sizes of family are as follows:
based on the assumption of a maximum mortgage of two and a half times the mortgager's annual earnings and repayable over 20 years.
823WThe figures assume that the present mortgage interest rate and basic rate of income tax remain unchanged for the remainder of the duration of each mortgage.
Average earnings for 1974–75 are taken to be the average of the new earnings survey estimates for April 1974 and April 1975 relating to full-time male manual workers in Northern Ireland. For 1979–80, the April 1979 new earnings survey estimates for Northern Ireland have been used.