Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of receipt of support from the Self Employment Income Support Scheme on recipients' ability to get a mortgage; and if he will make a statement.

Treasury ministers are in regular conversations with mortgage lenders about market conditions. Ultimately, the decision of a lender to offer products to customers is a commercial one, determined by their risk appetites, in which the government does not seek to interfere. Lenders will take into account the circumstances of individual customers, such as the security of their income (for which they may consider Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) payments); not having significant other debt; the borrower’s credit score and the loan to value of their mortgage.

The Government is clear that lenders should treat customers fairly, especially in the current context of Covid-19 and will continue to monitor the mortgage market and engage with industry on the availability of mortgage products.