Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for how long households will receive Support for Mortgage Interest as a benefit, if they have not been contacted by the Department about its change in policy by 5 April 2018.

All claimants were contacted about Support for Mortgage Interest loans before 5 April. After this initial contact an information discussion is held following which the offer of an SMI loan will be made. The claimant can continue to receive SMI as a benefit for up to 10 weeks following the date the loan offer is made to give them time to decide whether to accept the offer and for the loan payments to be put in place. Where an existing claimant lacks mental capacity to make decisions about entering into the loan agreement, the regulations enable SMI benefit to continue until an appropriate person is appointed to act on the claimant’s behalf.