asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many owner-occupied houses have been reclaimed by building societies where the owner-occupiers were in receipt of supplementary benefit as a consequence of unemployment in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982; and whether any record is kept of the means by which the families concerned are rehoused.

This information is not available.Repossession of an owner-occupier's home should not normally arise as a consequence of recourse to supplementary benefit during unemployment. Building societies usually accept interest only payments in these circumstances and mortgage interest is normally included in full in the assessment of an owner-occupier's housing requirements.