Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the latest date was by which recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest were made aware of the changes to the benefit scheduled for 5 April 2018.

To date, the department has sent information to around 95% of SMI claimants at the address at which they are claiming SMI benefit. In some cases we have so far been unable to contact claimants for a variety of reasons such as where we need to obtain a telephone number for the claimant. On current plans, the last contacts should be made by 26 March. The Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017 contain provision to extend payment of SMI benefit in these cases.