Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to inform people participating in the Home Ownership for people with Long Term Disabilities (HOLD) scheme that Support for Mortgage Interest payments will be replaced by a loan; whether letters and phone communications from her Department relating to that change have been specifically tailored to those people; how many of those people have been contacted by her Department about that change; what responses her Department have received from those people on that change; how much notice those people have been given of that change prior to its implementation; and if he will make a statement.

The Department is not aware of any HOLD cases where the claimant does not have an appointee acting on their behalf. In such circumstances all communications are via the appointee rather than the claimant so special arrangements are not necessary.

All existing SMI claimants including the representatives of HOLD claimants have been contacted about SMI loans. Data on the number of HOLD claimants who have taken up the loan offer is not available.

SMI benefit can continue temporarily beyond 6 April where an existing claimant lacks mental capacity to make decisions about entering into the loan agreement and additional assistance is required.