§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation along the lines of the US Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 1975 to seek to require financial institutions to disclose the number of mortgages granted in each urban postal district or if he will use the powers in Section 88 of the Building Societies Act 1962, to require such disclosure with a view to overcoming many building societies' reluctance to lend in the inner city areas.
§ Mr. FreesonThe Government prefer to work on the basis of voluntary cooperation with building societies towards such objectives and believe that "redlining" can be reduced by close cooperation between local authorities and building societies. As suggested in Chapter 7 of the Green Paper on Housing Policy, local authorities should keep societies fully informed of the development of their housing strategies and of their plans for specific areas. This will 409W give societies a sounder basis for assessing older houses as security for loans. The proposals for more flexible mortgage facilities—including the Government's proposed savings bonus and loans schemes—should be helpful to people with modest incomes who want to buy older houses in these areas.