§ Mr. Arthur Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any further plans to help first-time house buyers; and what advice he is giving to building societies with regard to mortgage interest rates and their use of resources to further the house building programme.
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§ Mr. FreesonThe deferred payment scheme for first-time house buyers that we announced in January will be ready for introduction in the next few weeks. The position of first-time buyers will be examined further in detail in the housing finance review.
The agreement on 11th April between the Government and the Council of the Building Societies Association about stabilisation of mortgage funds is an important step forward. We believe it will encourage housebuilders to commit resources to a programme of new construction.