§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Environment if he will increase the house price limits for the home loan scheme.
§ Mr. StanleyI have reviewed the limits in order to ensure that at least two-thirds of first-time buyers in each region will continue to qualify for the benefits of the scheme, provided they fulfil the savings conditions. The new limits reflect recent movements in house prices in each region. Orders to bring these new limits into effect on 1 September 1981 are being laid.
The new limits, compared with the present limits, are as follows:
714W
English Regions Present limits New limits from 1 September £ £ Greater London 29,100 29,100 South-West—The counties of Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; and the Isles of Scilly 21,700 22,900 East Anglia—The counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk 19,800 21,400 South-East (except Greater London) —The counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex 25,300 26,000 of a study of the effects on operating costs and road damage of heavy goods vehicles with gross weights exceeding the present limit of 32.5 tonnes. Maximum axle weights from 10 tonnes to 12 tonnes were considered.