Row over 'Second Home Subsidy'

A row has erupted over whether a Budget initiative aimed at helping people get on the housing ladder could be used to fund the purchase of second homes. Under the scheme, due to start next January, loans for those putting down 5% deposits would be guaranteed. Labour said there was nothing to stop people using it to buy second homes. The Help to Buy scheme was one of the initiatives in the Budget, but Labour has said the policy is beset by confusion amid questions about who might benefit. Mark Prisk appeared to rubbish Labour's claim, saying that to qualify for the Help to Buy scheme, buyers would have to sign a legal declaration that they were selling their existing home.  Later, however, the Treasury confirmed that the legal declaration only applied to the other part of the Help to Buy scheme, under which buyers can get interest-free loans for up to 20% of the value of a new-build home worth up to £600,000.Treasury sources initially stressed to the BBC Help to Buy was not designed for second homes but they would not be specifically excluded.  Read more on the BBC website.