§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons local authorities in the South West region were not included on the Government's list of councils which can temporarily suspend the right to buy. [126340]
§ Keith HillThere has been no suspension of the Right to Buy in any area. 41 local authority areas were included in the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003—Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 498—which came into effect on 27 March 2003. The Order lowered the maximum Right to Buy discount available to tenants from £38,000 (£34,000 in one area) to £16,000 in these areas, which were judged to be under the greatest housing market pressure as evidenced by high levels of homelessness (reflecting high demand for social housing), and high local house prices (reflecting the demand for social housing), and high local house prices (reflecting the demand for private housing and affordability). The 581W Land Registry lower quartile house price for the third quarter of 2002 was used, to indicate likely availability for first time buyers.
The model was rerun subsequently to take into account local earnings information. The effect was marginal and insufficient to justify further changes.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not wish to reduce the discounts available to tenants unless there is clear evidence of housing pressure on this basis. This did not appear to be the case in any area in the South-West region. The position will be kept under review. In the meantime, the Home Ownership Task Force is looking at the whole range of programmes aimed at helping people into home ownership, including the Right to Buy. The Task Force is due to report this autumn.