§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has so far made of the number of individuals annually who change from a fixed rate to a variable rate mortgage; if such individuals would be considered under his current proposals to have obtained a new mortgage and be ineligible for the existing range of social security assistance with mortgage interest; and if he will make a statement. [21106]
§ Mr. Roger EvansNo such estimate has been made. Under our proposals for changes to the rules on income support help with mortgage interest payments, a borrower with existing housing costs who changes from a fixed rate to a variable rate mortgage after 1 October this year will only be subject to the rules affecting new housing costs if they have entered into a new mortgage agreement while doing so. The full details of the new rules will not be completed until we have given full consideration to the report of the Social Security Advisory Committee. We are currently awaiting this report which will be based on642W representations that were made to the committee during its consultation period.