§ Mr. Gwilym JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will announce his initial housing revenue account subsidy determinations for 1991–92.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThe housing revenue account subsidy determinations for 1991–92 for Wales have been made today. They cover the assumptions that the Government will make about rents and management and maintenance and other rules governing the calculation of each authority's subsidy entitlement. I am placing copies of the determinations in the Library.
For rent guidelines, the proposals for an average increase of 2 per cent. above the allowance for inflation are confirmed. This means an average increase of £1.88 and a range of increases from £1.41 to £2.50 per week for individual authorities over the guideline rents which applied this year.
262WThe proposals for management and maintenance expenditure are similarly confirmed. These introduce a system which targets allowances in a way which better reflects the condition of each authority's council stock. This will benefit authorities with the poorest stock while no authority will have a lower allowance per dwelling, in cash terms, than in the current year. Across Wales overall, the average increase in the level of allowances will maintain them at this year's level in real terms.
It is for each council to determine its own rent and how much to spend on the management and maintenance of its stock.
On leasing, subject to some refinement of the rules, the proposals on which we consulted for the Principality covering the amounts of leasing which would attract subsidy within the housing revenue account are also confirmed.