HC Deb 14 July 1976 vol 915 cc639-41
9. Mr. McCrindle

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take steps to extend the limit on local councils' lending to enable them to play a major part in helping house purchasers.

Mr. Freeson

No, Sir. It would be inconsistent with present public expenditure constraints to raise the limit. We must continue to look to the building societies to help house purchasers who, as a result, cannot obtain a local authority loan.

Mr. McCrindle

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the wording of the Question is taken straight from the Labour Party manifesto of October 1974? In view of the proven failure of the building societies to come to the Government's rescue, is it not a scandalous betrayal of many people? Surely the Government could solve the problem by the shelving of the Community Land Act and of the municipalisation programme without any net additional public expenditure.

Mr. Freeson

With due respect, the hon. Gentleman's last point is redundant in relation to the Question before me. I am aware of the paraphrasing of the manifesto. That is an issue to which we shall have to return when we are in a position to do so. In the meantime, the ever-increasing close contact that we have with the building societies is having an effect that is contrary to what the hon. Gentleman has suggested. We estimate that about £1,000 million a year out of the total that is made available by the building societies is loaned on pre-1919 houses, and that a similar figure, about £1,000 million a year from a total of between £5,000 million and £6,000 million, is going to borrowers on below-average incomes. That is an increase.

Mr. Loyden

Does my hon. Friend agree that the fact that Liverpool is building houses for sale although about 6,500 people are on the register waiting for houses to rent indicates that the Government's policies and attitudes should be directed towards the provision of houses for rent rather than for sale?

Mr. Freeson

The Government's public expenditure policy is, and has been, primarily directed towards getting more houses built for rent by local authorities, housing associations and other forms of association that we have been stimulating, for example, co-operatives. We have been successful in that policy during the past two years. In saying that, and in reinforcing that policy, I am not saying that there is not a rôle for local authorities in providing houses for sale by building for owner-occupation. There is nothing either in law or in Socialist policy against that. On the contrary, Socialist policy should be aimed at getting public enterprise involved in the provision of all kinds of tenure, according to local need. What I say is not a judgment of the position in Liverpool; I have insufficient detail to be able to comment on that.