§ Mr. RaynsfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 January,Official Report,columns 82–83,when he expects to be able to publish figures for 1994 on the assistance towards mortgage interest and rents to recipients of income support.
§ Mr. Roger EvansInformation on local authority tenants and private and housing association tenants for 1994 will be available when the housing management information statistics are published in late August or early September. Information on income support mortgage interest recipients is available from the February 1994 quarterly statistical inquiry and is set out in the table. We expect information for May 1994 to be available in March.
February 1994 Number of Income Support recipients with mortgage interest included in the assessment 548,000 Average weekly cost £37.98 Implied annual cost £1,082 million Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand, average amount to the nearest penny and annual expenditure to the nearest million.
2. The implied annual expenditure has been calculated from the average weekly amount at the time of the enquiry.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry February 1994.
§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who may not be able to obtain insurance to cover the payment of their mortgages in the event of becoming unemployed and income support no longer being available.
§ Mr. Roger EvansNo such estimate has been made. We expect the proposals for income support mortgage interest will stimulate the insurance market and more comprehensive cover will develop. The Association of British Insurers has said that there is no reason why anyone meeting the criteria to obtain a mortgage should be refused insurance. We recognise that in some circumstances insurance may not be available. For this reason, pensioners will be protected under the new scheme. We shall be considering the position of other groups during the consultation period.