Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of Sharia-compliant home purchase plans.

The Government is committed to the availability of Islamic finance in the UK to ensure that no one is denied access to competitive financial products for reasons of faith. We are doing this by working to ensure that Sharia-compliant financial products can be supplied on the same terms and at the same standard as conventional financial products. The UK is already the western leader in Islamic finance, however we continue to explore areas where Islamic finance can be developed further.

Home purchase plans are enabled by regulations overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator set up by the Government to ensure consumers are receive appropriate protection.

Beyond the requirements set out in the FCA regulations, decisions around the pricing and availability of individual mortgage loans remain commercial decisions for lenders, and the Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.