Ruth writes to the Treasury asking the Government to lift the LISA London cap

Ruth Cadbury MP has written to the City Minister Rachel Blake asking the Government to lift or modify the £450,000 LISA Cap. The full text of the letter can be seen below.

''Dear Rachel, I am writing to you in regard to the Lifetime ISA (LISA) and the Government’s recently launched consultation. I welcome that the Government are committed to reviewing the LISA as I believe that there is a strong case for reforming it in order to benefit young people who are seeking to get on the housing ladder across London.

The value and cost of property in London and across the South-East has increased at a high rate over the past 25 years. Properties in my constituency which sold for £200,000 in 2000 are now valued at £800,000 and above. This is a level that has far outstripped the rise in incomes over the same time period. When the lifetime ISA was introduced in 2018 it had a cap in place of £450,000 for first-time buyers in London. I appreciate that a cap was needed so that the Treasury were not subsidising the sale of certain type of expensive properties in London. However the lack of any increase in the cap has impacted a number of families in my constituency and this will impact many across London and the South-East.

This includes many keyworkers who want to be able to buy a family home as they seek to start a family or require additional space to work from home. I hope that the Treasury can explore alternative measures such as introducing a gradual increase over time in the cap or increasing the level to reflect the increase in property prices since 2017. There is a logic behind having a cap, but without an increase the value of the cap will continue to reduce each year due to inflation. I believe it is important that we use every mechanism possible to ensure that the dream of home-ownership remains for my constituents, and I hope as part of the review that the Government can look at alternative remedies for the cap.

Kind regards,

Ruth Ruth Cadbury MP Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth''