Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Monday 5th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the Minister for his replay.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

3. What assessment she has made of the effect on employment and support allowance claimants’ income of changes to support for mortgage interest.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Kit Malthouse)]

All claimants will be offered a support for mortgage interest loan paid at the same rate that is currently available as part of their benefit entitlement. There will therefore be no impact on their income. Claimants will pay back the loan only on the sale or transfer of the property, when the loan will be recovered from any available equity.

[Nic Dakin]

My constituent, who is registered blind yet has paid into the system all his working life, asks how it can be fair that tenants continue, quite rightly, to get support now, but 100,000 or more people like himself are losing that interest support with their mortgages. It is not good enough to say that they will get it back at the end. This is affecting people now. People are worried about their futures and worried about their incomes now. It is not good enough.

[Kit Malthouse]

Mortgage support is being offered at exactly the same rate as currently. The only difference is that it is now being deferred as a loan recoverable against any equity available in the house should it be sold in the future. Current participants in the scheme should see absolutely no difference unless and until they sell or transfer the house, at which point the taxpayer will recover the support offered.