Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforming the eligibility criteria for the Help to Buy ISA in response to the increase in average house prices since 2013.

While the Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review, the Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder at the lower end of the market. The property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) therefore allows the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help across the country.

The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 460,567 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,680, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £230,593.