§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Prime Minister which Departments of State were invited to send speakers to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Wednesday 11 January to discuss families rendered homeless by mortgage default; what response was made; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterBoth the Department of the Environment and the Treasury were invited to send a speaker. The Minister for Housing, Environment and Countryside being unavailable on the date requested, discussed the issue on the following day. Mortgage repossessions are very distressing for those involved, but it is important to keep things in perspective: less than one 3W third of 1 per cent. of building society borrowers had their homes repossessed according to the most recent figures available.