§ 45. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the rate of interest on loans made by new town development corporations, in England and Wales, and Scotland, respectively, from 1960–61 to date.
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§ Mr. MellishThe information requested cannot be tabulated easily.
New Town development corporations make loans only on mortgage for housing and industry.
Until January, 1966, the rate of interest on housing advances in England, Scotland and Wales was ¼ per cent. above the rate at which the corporations borrowed from the Exchequer; since that date policy has required them to charge a rate which has regard both to the Government credit rate and to the Building Societies' recommended rate. Thus the rate is currently 7⅛ per cent. in line with the Building Society rate, and since 1960–61 has ranged between that rate and 5⅝ per cent.
There is no fixed rate of interest which corporations are required to charge on industrial loans. They are expected to obtain the best possible rate in each case, subject only to a minimum related to the Government borrowing rate, and (in the case of New Towns in development areas) to the rate charged to industrialists by the Board of Trade.