§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the desire expressed by the Building Societies Association for building societies to be allowed legally to engage in estate agency work, conveyancing, buying and selling of properties and all other matters connected with the building, buying and selling of property with a view to reducing costs and improving existing facilities, he will introduce the necessary legislation.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe Government are studying with care the Building Societies Association's report on "The future constitution and powers of building societies". As the report recognises, any proposed change in building society legislation is a matter for public debate, and the Government will therefore need to take account of the views of other interested parties before reaching conclusions. But I hope that we may be able to introduce new building society legislation in the course of the next Parliament.