§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he has any information on the number of tenants who may wish to participate in his rents into mortgages scheme;
(2) if he will make a further statement on the operation of his proposed rents into mortgages scheme.
§ Mr. GristThe flexi-ownership scheme which I announced in September will he introduced on an experimental basis by the Development Board for Rural Wales. By combining a mortgage loan, discount entitlement and a deferred payment, the board's tenants will be able to buy their homes at a weekly outlay broadly the same as their existing rent payments. Next month I expect to be able to announce the formal start of the scheme. At this stage I cannot anticipate the possible take-up but I am confident that the experiment will have most positive results.