08 July 2009
Healey’s home lifeline
Mark Conrad
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Housing minister, John Healey, will be prepared to extend emergency help for families at risk of housing repossessions if the UK’s economy continues to struggle beyond 2010.
Mr Healey told MPs on 7 July he would review the current two-year time limit on the fledgling Mortgage Rescue Scheme, through which local authorities are expected to help provide financial assistance to 6,000 families at high risk of repossession.
Mr Healey revealed the government’s longer-term plan during evidence to the Commons Treasury select committee. Asked whether he would extend the MRS, he replied: ‘Yes, we would certainly consider that.’ However, he later warned ‘a certain level of repossessions is inevitable’ during the recession.
Mr Healey also rejected accusations the government has been ‘fairly complacent’ with its support for households at risk of repossession. MPs suggested that with revised predictions for the number of repossessions during 2009 now standing at 65,000, the anticipated support for 6,000 families through the MRS was too low.
But Mr Healey said the MRS was merely the ‘backstop’ designed to help highest-risk families, and that other support schemes such as debt advice were available, earlier, to a larger number of families facing mortgage problems.
‘Every month over 200,000 households have been helped with mortgage interest payments. Last year, 34,000 households were helped by the government-paid free advice and representation in court.
‘Simply to look at the numbers at the end of the [MRS] scheme is to miss its importance much earlier on.’
Committee member Mark Todd MP then asked whether local authorities delivering mortgage assistance schemes had been ‘inadequately resourced’ by Whitehall, considering the rising demand on services.
Meanwhile, the LGA has predicted council house building is set to soar to levels not seen since 1990. Smith Square believes changes announced by CLG last week – allowing town halls to retain rent from council housing and receipts from right-to-buy purchases – mean 139,000 new council homes could be built within ten years.
Mr Healey told MPs on 7 July he would review the current two-year time limit on the fledgling Mortgage Rescue Scheme, through which local authorities are expected to help provide financial assistance to 6,000 families at high risk of repossession.
Mr Healey revealed the government’s longer-term plan during evidence to the Commons Treasury select committee. Asked whether he would extend the MRS, he replied: ‘Yes, we would certainly consider that.’ However, he later warned ‘a certain level of repossessions is inevitable’ during the recession.
Mr Healey also rejected accusations the government has been ‘fairly complacent’ with its support for households at risk of repossession. MPs suggested that with revised predictions for the number of repossessions during 2009 now standing at 65,000, the anticipated support for 6,000 families through the MRS was too low.
But Mr Healey said the MRS was merely the ‘backstop’ designed to help highest-risk families, and that other support schemes such as debt advice were available, earlier, to a larger number of families facing mortgage problems.
‘Every month over 200,000 households have been helped with mortgage interest payments. Last year, 34,000 households were helped by the government-paid free advice and representation in court.
‘Simply to look at the numbers at the end of the [MRS] scheme is to miss its importance much earlier on.’
Committee member Mark Todd MP then asked whether local authorities delivering mortgage assistance schemes had been ‘inadequately resourced’ by Whitehall, considering the rising demand on services.
Meanwhile, the LGA has predicted council house building is set to soar to levels not seen since 1990. Smith Square believes changes announced by CLG last week – allowing town halls to retain rent from council housing and receipts from right-to-buy purchases – mean 139,000 new council homes could be built within ten years.
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