HC Deb 03 March 1987 vol 111 c542W
86. Mr. Holt

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what new initiatives the Government are introducing to stimulate and assist individuals and families to relocate in areas of housing shortage following the successful obtainment of permanent employment.

Mr. Tracey

Five million pounds of the Housing Corporation's programme for 1987–88 will be allocated to the provision of grants of up to 30 per cent. of the cost of housing association schemes to provide shared accommodation for young single people moving into an area to take up employment. Recent measures in the Housing and Planning Act are intended to enable shared ownership schemes to become more widely available using private finance. These schemes can be particularly helpful to home owners moving into an area of higher house prices. The new Act also increases the scope for approved landlords to offer assured tenancies to widen the choice in the private rented sector. The powers proposed in the Local Government Bill to enable local authorities to give financial assistance towards the provision of privately rented housing will be a further encouragement to mobility, for public sector tenants the well established national mobility scheme, tenants exchange scheme and key workers schemes run by local authorities are available.