§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total amount of housing subsidy, including mortgage interest tax relief, rent
366Win Greater Manchester for the current year, indicating how these differ from previous years.
§ Mr. KingRate support grant is not paid to metropolitan county councils.The amount of RSG paid to each of the district councils within Greater Manchester in respect of the years 1974–75 to 1978–79 and the latest estimates for 1979–80 based on the first increase order for that year are as follows:
rebates and allowances, rate rebates; what is his estimate of the total number of personnel employed in administering the entire programme; what is the overall cost of administration; and what would be the total saving if all Government involvement in housing were to cease.
§ Mr. StanleyThe information required is as follows:
Estimated requirement for 1979–80 at 1979 survey prices (£ million England) Housing subsidy 1,603 Rent rebates and allowances 485 Option mortgage scheme 187 The estimated liability for rate rebates is £180 million. As to mortgage tax relief, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, Treasury, to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat) on 11 December 1979.—[Vol. 975, c. 566.] For all 367W aspects of housing work, including staff employed in finance, statistcs, economics, regional offices and rent assesment panels, the Department has a staff of 950. The Housing Corporation has 659 staff in post in England. English local authorities and new towns have some 34,000 full-time equivalent employees allocated to housing. I estimate the total cost of these staff to be some £480 million.
Cessation of all public sector involvement in housing would have implications for the economy of which the net effect on the public sector cannot readily be calculated.