§ 40. Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates his Department makes of the potential impact on council house rents of a reduced number of local authority dwellings leading to the servicing of debt charges by a smaller number of tenants.
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§ Mr. John PattenLocal authorities have discretion in setting rents for their housing. Sales of local authority dwellings give rise to capital receipts which, if not used to finance new capital expenditure, can be used to pay off outstanding loan debt. Alternatively they will earn interest, which must be credited to the housing revenue account. These various factors balance each other and, although their net impact will vary from authority to authority, it is not likely to be large.