Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Gibson Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Paul Scully]

It is great to hear stories of SMEs such as Oh4 in my hon. Friend’s constituency finding those innovative solutions. The building regulations are set in performance terms and do not prescribe technologies, so local authorities and SMEs have flexibility. That encourages industry and SMEs such as Oh4 to continue pushing the boundaries, so that today’s trailblazing examples of green innovation become the industry standards of tomorrow.

[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

14. What steps the Government are taking to support home ownership.

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Mr Simon Clarke)]

We are committed to creating a fair and just housing system that works for everyone. We have already cut stamp duty land tax, as the threshold at which it becomes due has doubled to £250,000, and we are expanding first-time buyers’ relief. We also have a range of programmes in place to help people into home ownership. Since spring 2010, more than 800,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through Help to Buy.

[Peter Gibson]

My right hon. Friend will know that 836 families in Darlington have benefited from Help to Buy in the past year, and 715 of them were first-time buyers. Given the success of the scheme what consideration has he given to extending it beyond March 2023?

[Mr Clarke]

I gladly pay tribute to Help to Buy, which has been a huge success, helping over 316,000 households to buy a new build from its launch in spring 2013 until the end of March this year. However, it was never designed to be a permanent intervention in the housing market. The closure at the end of March 2023 has been planned and publicised since the 2018 Budget, which has allowed the market to respond by introducing several products that provide similar levels of support to Help to Buy for first-time buyers. The Government have introduced various schemes as well, including First Homes, the mortgage guarantee scheme and shared ownership.