Government fudges grants for first time buyers (Monmouth Liberal Democrats)

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Monmouth Liberal Democrats <janetellard58@hotmail.com>

Government fudges grants for first time buyers

September 23, 2008 12:00 AM
Originally published by Welsh Liberal Democrats

A new Welsh Government scheme that makes grants available to first time buyers so as to make their homes more energy efficient is a 'fudge' designed to hide the fact that Plaid Cymru's manifesto pledge to help provide cash to help people get buy their first home is unworkable, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have said.

The pilot scheme will make £500,000 available to local authorities in certain areas to be offered as energy efficiency grants for first time buyers. The local authorities that will be allowed to bid to share in this cash during the trial are Cardiff, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham. People buying new build properties or properties under the right to buy will not be eligible to apply.

Plaid Cymru's 2007 Assembly election manifesto contained a promise "to help first time buyers get a foothold on the property ladder" and to "offer grants of up to £5,000, on a pound for pound match funded basis, to all first time buyers who save for three years in a government-supported scheme." Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson, Peter Black AM, said:

"This scheme will not help a single person onto the property ladder. It is a fudge to make Plaid's unaffordable and unworkable promise look viable and it even fails at that."

"If the Government is serious about helping young people onto the property ladder then they need to look serious at schemes like HomeBuy, low cost ownership schemes and bringing empty homes back into use. Instead of spending money on assisting key workers and the low paid they are wasting it on badly targeted grants like this."

Welsh Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, Mick Bates AM, added:

"I have seen no evidence to suggest that first time buyers are at any greater risk of suffering from fuel poverty than any other section of society. We should not be throwing money at problems but targeting efficiently to help as many people as possible. Money should be put into schemes like the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme to help those who are actually suffering from fuel poverty, regardless of where they are on the housing ladder."

"This scheme will not help first time buyers, or help the fuel poor. The Minister should scrap the idea and put money into schemes that will actually make a difference." END