The government’s flagship, multi-billion pound scheme for helping people to buy a home is increasingly giving loans to higher earners. According to official figures, the average annual household income of those benefiting from the £8.3bn taxpayer-funded scheme is £50,000, while in the London the figure is even higher, at £72,000.

The new data, released on the 29th of May, is likely to raise fresh questions about the value of the policy, which has already been criticised over suggestions it has driven up house prices and failed to benefit those who most need help.

The scheme gives buyers cash loans that enable them to purchase a property with just a 5% deposit and the earnings of the average Help to Buy loan recipient are now almost £10,000 higher than when the scheme was introduced in 2013 – a rise of 35%. In the same period wages have increased by just 6%.

The average household income in the UK is £25,700, although this is after direct taxes have been deducted, whereas the Help to Buy data relates to pre-tax wages.