HC Deb 08 July 2003 vol 408 cc753-4W
Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have to allow owners and tenants of Do-It-Yourself Shared Ownership schemes to gain right to buy discounts when purchasing the full share of their home. [123471]

Keith Hill

Shared owners are not eligible for the right to buy scheme for social tenants. The Government have no plans to allow shared owners who purchased their home under the Do-It-Yourself Shared Ownership (DIYSO) scheme to buy further shares in their property with the benefit of a discount equivalent to that provided under the right to buy. Shared owners already benefit from the public subsidy in providing the scheme and pay a subsidised rent.

However, DIYSO and the right to buy scheme are two of the schemes being examined by the Home Ownership Task Force, that was announced by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister in the Sustainable Communities Plan on 5 February 2003. The Task Force is looking at the whole range of programmes aimed at helping people into home ownership. It will examine who is being helped through current initiatives, to what extent these initiatives free up social tenancies for other occupants, and the scope for better targeting and design. The Task Force is expected to report in the autumn.