Housing Revenue Account

HC Deb 17 December 1992 vol 216 cc403-4W

Mr. Richards

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to make his housing revenue account subsidy determinations for 1993–94.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

I expect to make the determinations very shortly and will place copies in the Library of the House.

I am proposing to confirm an average guideline rent increase of 4 per cent. in real terms with a minimum increase of £1.25 per week and a maximum of £2.75 per week. I estimate that the average guideline rent increase would be £1.84 per week and the resulting average weekly guideline rent £29.17.

For management and maintenance allowances, I propose to confirm an average increase of 1 per cent. in real terms. I estimate that this would raise the average allowance to £794 per annum per dwelling, an increase of £28.

I have placed estimates of the rent guidelines and management and maintenance allowances for each authority in the Library of the House.

The rent guidelines and management and maintenance allowances are the assumptions to be made for subsidy purposes. It is for councils themselves to set their rents and decide how much to spend on management and maintenance within their legal obligations.