§ Mr. W. Benyonasked the Secretary of State for the 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 saving conditions. The new limits reflect recent movements in house prices in each region. An order is being laid to bring these new limits into effect on 28 February 1983.
The new limits, compared with the present limits, are as follows:
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English Regions Present limits New limits from 28 February £ £ Greater London 29,100 30,000 South West—(The Counties of Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Glocestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; and the Isles of Scilly) 22,900 23,900 East Anglia—(The Counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk) 21,400 22,800 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) 26,000 26,800 Northern—(The Counties of Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) 17,500 18,400 Yorkshire and Humberside—(The Counties of Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire) 17,100 18,000 North West—(The Counties of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside) 19,000 19,800 East Midlands—(The Counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire) 18,400 20,100
English Regions Present limits New limits from 28 February £ £ West Midlands—(The Counties of Hereford and Worcester, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and West Midlands) 19,500 20,000 Scotland 20,800 23,400 Wales 18,800 20,700