§ Mr. Proctorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to the Treasury of tax relief on mortgages and the cost of the Exchequer subsidy on council houses; and by what amount the basic rate of tax would be reduced if both were abolished.
§ Mr. Ridley:The latest year for which estimates of both items are available is 1980–81, when the cost of tax relief on mortgage interest was put at £1,960 million, and the cost of housing subsidies—subsidies to local authority and new town housing, excluding rent rebates, but including option mortgage subsidy—at £2,200 million. On the basis of these estimates, the basic rate of income tax could be reduced by 4½p.