§ 15. Mr. Andrew MacKayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his latest discussions with lending institutions concerning repossessions.
§ Mr. HeseltineLast month, ministerial colleagues and I had a series of meetings with the Council of Mortgage Lenders to discuss the problem of mortgage arrears and repossessions. These resulted in agreement on the measures which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced to the House on 19 December. I spoke to Mark Boleat, the Director General of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, earlier today on my return from Brussels, and I expect the lending institutions to be in a position to make announcements within the next two to three weeks.
§ Mr. MacKayI readily recognise that the agreement has been of great benefit to many home owners who, through 312 no fault of their own, are in fear of repossession, but will my right hon. Friend agree that it is absolutely critical that Mr. Boleat, on behalf of the lenders, ensures that housing associations are provided with those funds quickly so that they can be seen to be taking over the houses that could have been repossessed and so completely put at rest the minds of those who still live in some fear?
§ Mr. HeseltineWe all sympathise with the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Berkshire, East (Mr. MacKay). He will have welcomed the assurance of the building societies that they will not act against those people who have borrowed money from them, albeit in arrears, who are making a reasonable contribution or whose contributions are covered by income support.
§ Mr. GouldWas not the half-baked scheme announced before Christmas not only too little and too late but a classic case of passing the buck? Has the Secretary of State not just, in effect, confirmed that not a single agreement has yet been concluded under the scheme by any building society or housing association, so that not a single household has yet benefited in the way that was suggested by the hon. Member for Berkshire, East a moment ago? Is it not now clear that the whole sham was, typically, designed to deal with embarrassing headlines rather than with the real and pressing problems faced by thousands of families threatened with the loss of their homes?
§ Mr. HeseltineI am sorry that the hon. Gentleman was obviously half asleep on Saturday when the Mortgage Corporation announced the first such scheme. The most important help to give to people in those circumstances flows from the fact that interest rates have been cut by 4½per cent. since October so reducing the typical mortgage by an average of £70 a month. Anyone who is genuinely concerned about people having to pay their mortgages would be appalled by the Labour party's proposal to put tax rates up to 59p in the pound.