Low-cost Home Ownership

HC Deb 04 February 1981 vol 998 cc121-2W

Mr. Butcher

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what response has been received to the Government's efforts to promote low-cost home ownership.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

Central to our low-cost home ownership policies is the right to buy, which has produced a very encouraging initial response. The same is true of our other recent initiatives. Inquiries made of local authorities in November 1980 indicated that a total of 165 were already developing at least one project of this kind in 1980–81:

• 54 intended to sell land in their areas for starter homes.
• 93 to licence the building of starter homes on their land.
• 42 to improve homes for sale.
• 50 to sell unimproved homes for improvement by the purchaser.
• 20 to have shared ownership schemes.