Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in drafting the regulations laying down the requirements which must be fulfilled by building societies which are to be approved for the purposes of the Government house purchase scheme, arrangements will be made to ensure that Condition 2 (d) of Appendix II of the White Paper, Command Paper No. 71, will not debar any building society for all time in respect of its reserve position for the years 1957 and 1958; and whether he will make a statement clarifying the position with regard to this matter.
§ Mr. SimonYes. The Regulations will make clear that, provided that the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies is satisfied in other respects, the society will be eligible for approval at any time if it can show in its latest annual account that its free reserves, as defined and qualified, are not less than 2.5 per cent. of its total assets (excluding advances from Her Majesty's Government); and lower qualifying percentages will be allowed for 1957, 1958, and 1959.