§ Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has issued to local authorities concerning interest rates to be charged on their mortgage loans.
§ Mr. ArmstrongAdvice given to local authorities by departmental circulars in 1964 and 1970 is that lending should as far as practicable be operated without loss to the authority, and that interest rates should not be less than ¼ per cent. above the Consolidated Loans Fund or loans pools rates. Subsequently, in October 1974, the Department advised that where local authorities had given loans at fixed interest rates which were less than the CLF or loans pools rates, variable rate mortgages should not be required to make good the deficit. Instead, the two types of mortgage loan should be accounted for separately.