§ 13. Mr. Youngerasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken in the last six months to encourage local authorities to introduce home loan schemes.
§ Mr. RossAlmost all major local authorities already have such schemes. In March I issued a circular on their operation.
§ Mr. YoungerWould the right hon. Gentleman explain why it took him more than three months to reply to a request from Ayr Town Council for a home loan scheme and why, when he did finally reply, he allowed only half the money asked for?
§ Mr. RossThe answer is simply because this was the first time that Ayr had applied for a home loan scheme. At the time we were dealing with many other such allocations. Half the amount was given because we had no previous data to go on to see what would be suitable for a full year. When we have seen how this works out—what demand there is in Ayr after six months—we will issue another figure.