Nick Smith
Main Page: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)Department Debates - View all Nick Smith's debates with the HM Treasury
(11 months ago)
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Andrew Griffith
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for wonderful Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French) for that. I recall that last October Opposition Members were never shy of citing the Institute for Fiscal Studies, but they do so much less today, because the IFS has said that Labour’s £28 billion borrowing plan would cause both interest rates and inflation to rise. I do not see how that would help the nation’s mortgage holders.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
The value of mortgage arrears has risen by a troubling 10% in the past quarter, so what is the Minister’s assessment of the likely level of arrears in the next quarter?
Andrew Griffith
I talked about the focus on the level of mortgage arrears, which are at an historic level. My Treasury colleagues and I are tracking them extremely closely. We have talked to all the lenders and the Chancellor has brought them all in to ensure that they have responsible policies in place so that repossessions are a last resort.