§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Government's future plans for the extension of shared ownership schemes.
§ Mrs. RoeThe Government have promoted shared ownership since they came into office, as an important means of helping those who could not otherwise afford to buy their own homes.
Until now, shared ownership has been developed largely by housing associations and local authorities. We believe that it could be made much more widely available if it were financed privately. That is why we legislated in the Housing and Planning Act 1986 to exempt certain shared ownership leases from the Rent Act.
The regulations which bring those provisions into force have now been made. I hope that housing associations, financial institutions and others will take full advantage of the opportunities which this opens up.