asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how he arrived at his estimate that in 1969–70 tax relief for owner-occupiers of houses in Scotland came to £7 million; how many such owner-occupiers there were then estimated to be; and what are the latest available figures.

The estimate was based on information about interest payments, mainly to building societies, from the Board of Inland Revenue. There were about 529,000 owner-occupied houses in December, 1969, and 540,000 in December, 1970, the latest date for which this figure is available.