§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the total value of negative equity in homes in(a) England and (b) the north-west standard region in April 1992 and at the present date, and of the number of properties involved.
§ Mr. BaldryThere is insufficient information to estimate the total value of negative equity in mortgaged homes. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 February to my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Sir T. Arnold),Official Report, column 522. The number of dwellings in the north-west region where the mortgage exceeded the value of the dewlling in the fourth quarter of 1992 was probably about 10,000.