Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce transitional measures for claimants in receipt of support for mortgage interest when his Department ends the Support for Mortgage Interest allowance.

Transitional provisions are in the Social Security Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017 to enable claimants who are receiving support for mortgage interest as part of their benefit on 5 April 2018 to have a temporary period in which they can still receive SMI as a benefit. This will allow the SMI benefit payments to continue should there be delays in the operational activity to migrate existing claimants to the loans scheme. This will enable the first loan payment to be made shortly after 6 April if that date falls during the claimant’s benefit week (in the case of a claimant of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and State Pension Credit) or assessment period (in the case of a Universal Credit claimant) so that there is no gap in payment between the last SMI benefit award and the first loan payment.

Where an existing claimant lacks mental capacity to make decisions about entering into the loan agreement, the regulations provide for support for mortgage interest as a benefit to continue until a final determination is made as to whether to appoint an appropriate person to act on the claimant’s behalf (such as a Financial Deputy) in respect of the loan agreement.

Transitional provisions are also included to ease the transition from Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance to universal credit. Where a claimant who has served the qualifying period in respect of support for mortgage interest before moving on to universal credit, the claimant will not have to serve the qualifying period again (subject to satisfying certain conditions).