Economic Statistics

Sir Gerald Kaufman
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) interest and (b) mortgage rates were on 2 May 1997; and what they were in each case on the most recent available date.

John Healey
The following table gives the requested information. Note that “mortgage rate” refers to the average building society mortgage rate.

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|                         |2 May 1997|Most recent            |
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|Bank of England base rate|5.94      |5.00 (30 November 2006)|
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|Mortgage rate            |6.98      |5.22 (September 2006)  |
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Hugh Bayley
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) highest and (b) average mortgage interest rate (i) was between 1992 and 1997 and (ii) has been since 1997.

John Healey
The following table gives the requested information. Note that “mortgage rate” refers to the average building society mortgage rate.

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|                     |1992-97|Since 1997|
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|Highest mortgage rate|11.38  |7.99      |
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|Average mortgage rate|8.10   |5.91      |
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