§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the current price cost in 1983–84 of administering housing benefit; and what was the average cost of administration per claimant.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe estimated cost of administering housing benefit in 1983–84 was £103 million. I regret that the average cost of administration per claimant is not available.
§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the number of households which qualify for housing benefit; and what percentage of all households this figure represents.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe information is not available in the precise form requested. Subsidy returns indicate that about 7½ million households currently recieve housing benefit. This represents broadly 35 per cent. of households in Great Britain.