Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department took to inform recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest of the changes from benefit to loan occurring on 5 April 2018.

A managed information provision process began in July 2017 to inform all existing recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) benefit of the new scheme. Claimants are given information about how the SMI loan will work, about alternatives to the loan and organisations that may offer further information and support. This is followed up by telephone calls to explain the information and answer any questions. A leaflet containing Frequently Asked Questions is issued to support this informed discussion. Where a claimant expresses an interest in taking up the offer of an SMI loan they will be sent a loan agreement and charge form to complete and return. They also receive detailed guidance on how to complete these documents.