Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the level of mortgage interest rates on the levels of household disposable income in (a) Aldershot constituency, (b) Hampshire and (c) England.

Average offered interest rates on 2-year and 5-year fixed rate mortgages have fallen from their peak in the Summer of 2023.

The pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. Mortgage interest rates are in part driven by Bank Rate, set by the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. The MPC continues to have the Government’s full support as it takes action to return inflation to target through its independent monetary policy decisions.

This government’s missions to deliver growth, restore stability, increase investment and reform the economy will support price stability and drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK.

In their October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast real household disposable income (RHDI) per capita to grow by an annual average of 0.5% over this parliament. This is more than double the pace of RHDI per capita growth observed in the 2019-2024 parliament.

RHDI per capita is only reported at a national level, but to ensure growth is felt by everyone we are also monitoring GDP capita on a regional basis.