§ Mr. RichardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes he proposed to make to the house renovation grant system following his recent consultation exercise.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesAfter considering the responses to the consultation paper on the future of private housing renewal programmes, I have today laid the House Renovation Grant Limit Order, under which the upper limit for mandatory grants to owners, tenants and landlords in Wales will be £24,000. The order will come into force on 14 January 1994. I propose no change for the moment, to the exchequer subsidy rate or to the applicants test of resources.
The consultation paper included longer-term options which I am considering further. The Government's objective is to ensure that the resources available for private sector housing are targeted effectively.