§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Housing Green Paper, how, for(a) taxation and (b) national insurance contribution purposes, his Department's revenue bodies would treat preferential loans made by the Government to public sector workers wishing to buy housing in London and the South East of England; and if he will make a statement. [119425]
§ Dawn Primarolo[holding answer 17 April 2000]Under current rules, if a Government Department were to make preferential loans for key workers, whether in the public, private or voluntary sectors, there would be no tax or national insurance charges arising provided that the employees were not directly employed by a Government Department and the loans were neither guaranteed nor facilitated by their employers.