§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that during any relaxation of credit for mortgages he will endeavour to persuade the building societies to set reasonable upper limits to the size of each individual mortgage so as to ensure that the credit available is not taken up in the form of a comparatively few very large advances.
§ Mr. ShoreSocieties are required to restrict special advances, which comprise loans in excess of £20,000 to private individuals as well as loans to companies, to 10 per cent. of their total lending. Apart from this legal restriction, it is societies' policy to spread the available mortgage finance widely so as to support the active housing market to which both the Government and the building societies are fully committed. In 1976 the average advance for house purchase was about £8,400. In the third quarter of 1976,54W 5.3 per cent. advances were for more than £15,000.