§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about the arrangements for making advances of salary available to civil servants who have to move their homes as a result of being transferred in the public interest to a new place of work.
§ Mr. BrookeA civil servant who has to move home on transfer in the public interest to a new place of work may be eligible for an advance of salary. Under the current arrangements an advance may be made if the net proceeds of the sale of the existing property, if any, and the maximum mortgage available from commercial sources are not sufficient to cover the cost of a suitable property at the new station. The current maximum advance payable within upper and lower limits is six months' pay. The limits were last revised in 1981. The upper limit is £9,500 with a further £1,000 for transfers into London.
The arrangements have recently been reviewed in the light of changes in the property market and in salaries since 1981. The intention is to allow departments more flexibility in making advances on transfer. It will no longer be an essential requirement, for example, that the individual should first obtain the maximum commercial mortgage. It is also proposed that the maximum advance should be six months' pay, as previously, but that the limits expressed in cash terms should be abolished.