§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to promote his rents into mortgages scheme and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GristMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already written to every tenant of the Development Board for Rural Wales to explain the basis of flexi-ownership and the Department will be announcing the formal start of the scheme very soon.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the amount a tenant, paying an average Welsh council home rent, would pay if he participated in his Department's rents into mortgages scheme, showing the method of calculation.
§ Mr. GristThe Development Board for Rural Wales will make two adjustments to rents when calculating how much tenants will need to pay when buying their homes under flexi-ownership. First, 10 per cent. will be added to the rent to reflct the greater benefit deriving from home ownership, then £5 (£7.50 in the case of flats) will be deducted as a notional allowance for insurance and maintenance costs. So, for example, if the rent was £21.84 (which is the current Welsh average council house rent) adding 10 per cent. and deducting £5 would give a figure of £19.02 per week. The amount of low start mortgage which this figure would buy is the amount the tenant would have to pay initially to buy his house under flexi-ownership. The balance between this amount and the market value of the home would be met by discount and deferred payment. Discounts will be 15 per cent. less than the right-to-buy discount entitlement.