§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total cost of mortgage interest tax relief in Scotland in the years 1995–96 and 1996–97; and what it is estimated to be for 1997–98. [2532]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe cost of mortgage interest relief in Scotland was estimated to be £200 million in 1995–96.
This estimate has been obtained by applying the regional distribution of the cost of mortgage interest relief from analyses of Family Expenditure Surveys up to 1994, to the total figure for 1995–96. It is not possible to provide reliable estimates for mortgage interest tax relief in Scotland for 1996–97 or 1997–98.