The first-time buyer's grant was a very clear signal of the Government's policy to assist those attempting to enter the market and to get on to the property ladder in the first instance. Once one gets on to the property ladder, it is easier to move upwards. It is becoming increasingly difficult to do so, a factor which the grant was all about. In discontinuing the grant the Government is taking away the only support available to first-time buyers. However, this is not matched by any lessening of the supports available to investors in the market for whom the current tax reliefs are much greater than the supports available to first-time buyers. It is a very mean-minded gesture which gives a greater benefit to investors and takes it from first-time buyers. It sends a very negative signal in terms of social policy, where our priorities as a society lie and where the Government's priorities lie.