§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his assessment of the part the increase in house prices has played in raising wage costs since 1975 and 1979, respectively; what provision the Government have made to compensate their employees for moving from the regions to London; and what is his estimate of the difference in annual housing costs for the average employee on Humberside and in London.
§ Mr. BrookeThere may be a relationship between house prices and average earnings but its exact nature and size are open to question.
The arrangements for assisting civil service staff on transfer to areas where housing is more expensive have recently been improved. Somebody who is permanently transferred to London and now has to spend at least an extra £30,000 to buy a similar house can now receive up to £2,460 per year at current mortgage interest rates. (Before 1 April 1987 the limit was £1,138 per year).
There are no official figures for differences in housing costs between the regions. However, information on relative housing expenditure between regions is available from the "Family Expenditure Survey" (Table 29). The latest information concerns average weekly expenditure in the years 1984 and 1985 and shows average gross weekly expenditure of £35.82 per week in Greater London and £24.85 per week in Yorkshire and Humberside.