§ Mr. RaynsfordTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of rooms which will be brought into letting in consequence of the rent-a-room scheme, the average rents for such lettings, and the cost in revenue forgone as a result of the proposed exemption from income tax of the £3,250 received for such lettings(a) in 1992–93 and (b) in a full financial year; and if he will estimate the regional breakdown of such lettings.
§ Mr. DorrellWe hope that many people will be encouraged to let rooms by the rent-a-room scheme. But it is not possible to make estimates of the actual number of new lettings which will be generated by the scheme. It follows that there is no information about the average rents of likely new lettings, nor their regional breakdown.