Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of the price cap of First Homes on the (a) variety and (b) local suitability of homes produced for the scheme under Section 106 obligations.

It is important that the price caps for First Homes retain an element of clarity and consistency to support consumers, developers and mortgage lenders who may operate across multiple local areas. The two-tier price cap system the Government has instigated provides this clarity, while the values of £250,000 in England and £420,000 in Greater London have been set to ensure that at least 25% of all properties purchased by first-time buyers in every local authority in England and greater London would be captured.

Local authorities have the flexibility to lower these price caps if appropriate for their local housing markets or, crucially, to raise the minimum discount required to either 40% or 50%, to ensure that high-value areas are able to capture a greater variety of housing types and sizes.