§ Mr. Joseph Deanasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he is considering and what additional financial resources he will make available to assist local authorities in seeking to lower mortgage interest rates.
§ Mr. FreesonThe Green Paper on Housing Policy (Cmnd. 6851) proposed that local authorities should be enabled to change the rate recommended by the Building Societies Association, any surplus or deficit being credited or charged to an authority's general rate fund. We are now receiving observations on this proposal from the local authorities and other interested parties.