asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further action he will initiate to help prospective purchasers of nineteenth-century and pre-1914 houses who are unable to obtain a local authority mortgage as a result of his Department's circular 64/75 and who are seeking a type of house which does not fall within the lending policy of most building societies.

The first priority must be to press ahead with the current £100 million scheme. Meanwhile, as my right hon. Friend indicated in reply to a supplementary question last Wednesday, the building societies are considering the request for a possible extension of the scheme.