§ Mr. Heddleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will increase the house price limits for the home loan scheme.
§ Mr. GowMy right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales and the Secretary of State for the Environment 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. An order is being laid today to bring these new limits into effect on 15 August 1984.
The new limits, compared with the present limits, are as follows:
Area in which the property is situated Home loan benefits available for homes costing up to Present limits £ New limits £ England Northern region: counties of Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear 19,100 20,100 Yorkshire and Humberside region: counties of Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire 18,200 19,200 East Midlands region: counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Nottinghamshire 20,100 20,400 East Anglia region: counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk 22,900 23,700 South East region: London: county of Greater London 30,700 33,100 rest of South East: counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and West Sussex 27,100 29,400 South West region: counties of Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire; and the Isles of Scilly 24,000 25,700 West Midlands region: counties of Hereford and Worcester, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and West Midlands 20,000 20,700 North West region: counties of Cheshuire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Merseyside 20,200 20,200 Wales 20,700 21,300 Scotland 23,400 23,700