Government Mortgage Rescue Scheme cuts criticised

Date:Monday 26th July 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

The cuts being applied to the government Mortgage Rescue Scheme will not have been well-received by struggling homeowners, according to one property expert.

Paula John, editor of Your Mortgage, described the move as being terribly timed, since there people would hope to have more state support in the current economic climate, rather than less.

She said: "More people are likely to struggle with the cuts in public sector spending which are likely to impact on redundancies, increase unemployment and affect people's abilities to repay their mortgages."

Her comments follow the announcement by housing minister Grant Shapps that alterations will be made to the way the Mortgage Rescue Scheme is delivered, with the aim being to focus on achieving better value for money.

Ms John accepted that the government has to make cuts wherever it can, but she questioned whether taking money away from this initiative is the right way to go.