Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accessibility of the Help to Buy scheme for lower-income citizens.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan has helped almost 159,000 households buy a new-build home from its launch in spring 2013 until December 2017. The scheme enables prospective homeowners to buy a home with a deposit of 5 per cent. 81 per cent of sales have been to first-time buyers.

The majority (59 per cent) of the households using the scheme have had household incomes of £50,000 or less.

For people unable to afford to purchase a home fully, there is the option of shared ownership, by which they can purchase 25 per cent to 75 per cent of a home, with the option to buy further shares in their homes in minimum 10 per cent instalments, and in most circumstances, up to full ownership.