Calls for the delay of a new loan set to replace a state-backed benefit in just 10 weeks’ time Shane Hickey ( The Guardian) Mon 5 Feb 2018
Many poorer families could be in danger of having their home repossessed as a state-backed benefit is taken away.
The government has been called on to delay a new “second mortgage” scheme, which replaces a benefit for homeowners on low incomes, after just one in 20 affected households have signed up for it.
From April, the government is axing “support for mortgage interest” (SMI) which helps financially constrained homeowners with their mortgage. It will be replaced with a controversial system where the government offers to loan people the money, which will be repaid later with interest.
However, new figures have shown that just 6,850 households have signed up for the scheme out of the 124,000 currently receiving the SMI benefit, prompting calls for the changeover to be delayed. more info