§ 16. Mr. John Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the numbers of wage-earners who satisfy the conditions laid down by building societies in order to secure a loan for newly built three and four apartment houses; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonI cannot make such an estimate because building societies do not operate uniform conditions but use a wide variety of criteria in deciding whether to make a loan. In 1967, one quarter of the new mortgage borrowers in Scotland earned less than £1,200 a year.
§ Mr. RobertsonI thank my hon. Friend for that Answer. He will realise that the most important factor in determining whether one can have a loan for building new property is annual net earnings. Will he see whether the ratio of earnings and housing costs in Scotland is the main factor why there is such a vast difference between the number of owner-occupied houses being built in Scotland and the number being built in England and Wales?
§ Dr. MabonI thank my hon. Friend for that. This deserves full examination and when we have the Sidwell Report we shall couple it with our information from the building societies. We have no evidence that building societies have 455 any bias against wage earners, but if any hon. Member has such evidence, I should be happy to receive it.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneIn view of his well-known views about the effect of a Labour Government on the rates of charges by building societies, will enlisting the assistance of the right hon. Member for Belper (Mr. George Brown) be considered?