§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many extra council tenants he estimates will be entitled to rent rebates should council rents rise by (a) £2, (b) £2.50, (c) £3, (d) £3.50 and (e) £4 per week.
§ Mr. StanleyAn estimate of the number of council tenants who may be entitled to rent rebates in 1982–83 will be made when the Government have reached a firm view on the likely level of rent increases next year. In the meantime, estimates on the hypothetical basis requested could only be made available to the hon. Member at disproportionate cost.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council tenants are currently in receipt of rent rebates; what percentage of total council tenants this represents; and if he will break the figures down to show the numbers and percentages for each local authority.
§ Mr. StanleyAt the end of May 1981, it is estimated that rent rebates were being received by 1,215,000 households, excluding recipients of supplementary benefit, who were renting accommodation from local authorities and new towns in England and Wales: this was 23 per cent. of all households in such accommodation. Numbers of rent rebate recipients and of council dwellings within local authority areas appear in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy annual publication "Housing Rents Statistics". The 1981 edition will be published in January and a copy will be placed in the Library.