Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of retrofitting sprinkler systems to residential tower blocks.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The cost of retrofitting sprinklers will depend on the individual characteristics of a building.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support home ownership among people with poor or no credit history.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The availability and pricing of mortgages is ultimately a decision for lenders, and the Government does not seek to directly intervene in these.
First time buyers can benefit from a tax-free Government bonus of up to £3,000 if they save with a Help to Buy:ISA. The bonus will represent 25 per cent of the amount saved, up to a maximum of £3,000 on £12,000 of savings. The bonus will be calculated and paid when you buy your first home, available on homes up to £250,000, or £450,000 in London.
In addition, the Government is supportive of efforts to help borrowers access credit, including mortgages. The Government will introduce new Open Banking standards from January 2018, allowing consumers to share data directly from their payment accounts in a secure way. This will enable quicker and more accurate credit reporting, allowing lenders to take other factors into account when assessing a borrower's creditworthiness, such as a history of meeting rent payments on time.