HL Deb 14 July 1992 vol 539 cc15-6WA
Lord Molloy

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to reduce housing repossessions and to help those whose homes are repossessed.

Lord Strathclyde

Ministers met mortgage lenders on 2nd June to review progress on tackling repossessions. They were encouraged to hear the lenders' assessment that repossessions in 1992 will be significantly lower than they would have been without the package of measures announced by the Chancellor last December.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that measures taken since December will save some 55,000 repossessions this year: 40,000 as a result of new procedures for dealing with arrears cases; and 15,000 as a result of the direct payment to lenders of the mortgage interest element of' Income Support. The Government continue to regard the level of repossessions as an important issue and will follow closely the progress lenders are making in tackling it.

The revised Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, issued on 14th August 1991, gives detailed advice to local authorities on their homelessness functions, including matters that should be taken into account when considering the cases of applicants who are homeless as a result of mortgage arrears.