§ 13. Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the regional price limits fixed under the House Purchase Assistance and Housing Corporation Guarantee Act 1978.
§ Mr. FreesonThe illustrative limits we have published will be revised to take account of price movements. The limits which will apply when first home loan payments are made in 1980 will be set, by order, during that year.
§ Mr. AtkinsonDoes the right hon. Gentleman accept that by fixing these regional price limits he is effectively excluding from the scheme thousands of young couples who live in areas of low income but high housing costs, such as in my constituency in Bournemouth? What plan does the Minister intend to draw up to help those young couples who have been discriminated against in this way?
§ Mr. FreesonI have answered that in part already by making it clear that the regional price limits that we have published so far are for guidance only. The price limits that we shall decide upon in 1980 will take account of price movements. However, in the meantime I assure the hon. Gentleman that the scheme, as we have designed it, and the limits that we set regionally, are aimed to provide cover for two-thirds of first-time house purchasers. During last year about two-thirds of first-time buyers in the South-West were buying at prices below £13,300, which is the present guide figure for the region.