§ Q4. Mr. Meacherasked the Prime Minister if he will make himself responsible for housing finance.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Alfred Morris) on 12th April.—[Vol. 854, c. 1498–9.]
§ Mr. MeacherAs on mortgages the Government have changed their minds about subsidising market prices, why have they not changed their minds over food prices as well and over interest rates other than mortgage interest rates? Does not the Prime Minister intend, with his penchant for consistency, to ensure that his Departments do U-turns in unison?
§ The Prime MinisterIf we feel that particular action for a limited period is justified, we carry it through. In these circumstances it was quite obvious that the building societies, in the position in which they found themselves, needed assistance of this kind for a limited period.
Mr. Frank AllannAs the subsidy to owner-occupiers has just been raised to £355 million a year, is it still the Prime Minister's intention to cut the subsidy to council house tenants by £128 million a year in real terms within the next three 258 years? Does he think that that is playing the game?
§ The Prime MinisterThe total going to owner-occupiers was £336 million in 1971–72, plus the option mortgage scheme, costing £28 million in 1972–73; and there are 9 million owner-occupiers. The total going to council tenants in Great Britain in 1972–73 is £400 million, and there are 5.7 million occupiers.
§ Mr. Idris OwenWould my right hon Friend care to invite the Chancellor of the Exchequer to enter into meaningful discussions with the Building Societies Association to discuss the long-term interest rate policy in order to avoid the dramatic changes we have experienced in the last 14 days?
§ The Prime MinisterThose meaningful discussions are already taking place.