Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his proposals to review financial sector regulation on house (a) prices and (b) supply.

The Edinburgh Reforms, launched by the Chancellor on 9 December, take forward the government’s ambition for the UK to be the world’s most innovative and competitive global financial centre. We are committed to an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector that is globally competitive and acts in the interests of communities and citizens across all four nations of the UK.

The reforms will help to drive growth and competitiveness in this crucial sector, while retaining our commitment to high international standards. This is the first of a series of sectoral reforms to drive growth during challenging economic times.

HM Treasury does not prepare formal forecasts for house prices, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). In addition, the pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.

In its November 2022 forecast, the OBR expects house prices to fall by 1.2% and 5.7% in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The latest available data shows that UK average house prices increased by 9.5% over the year to September 2022. Further details can be found in the OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in November 2022: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2022/