Andy Burnham has announced “Your First Home”, a proposed scheme to help first-time buyers who struggle to save a large deposit, especially those without family support. Buyers would be able to access a mortgage with a 2.5 per cent deposit and a government-backed loan of up to 20 per cent of the property’s value; ministers say the scheme will also give builders confidence to construct new homes.

For a £230,000 home, the example given is a £5,750 deposit and a loan of up to £46,000, leaving a £178,250 mortgage and estimated repayments of £990 a month at 4.5 per cent over 25 years, during at least the initial fixed term. The government loan would be repayable and could involve interest charges, with the precise terms still to be announced at the Budget. The scheme is expected to be funded by reprioritising existing budgets and contributions from developers, and will include household-income and property-price caps. It draws on the Help to Buy programme, which enabled about 380,000 purchases, but critics said that scheme was poorly targeted and pushed up house prices.