Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of using the three month mortgage holiday during the covid-19 outbreak on people's (a) credit ratings and (b) ability to access new mortgage finance deals and other financial services; and if he will make a statement.

The FCA requires that there should be no worsening of arrears status on a consumer’s credit file as a result of taking out a payment holiday. This was reconfirmed in the FCA’s updated guidance published in June and continues to be the case for any borrower taking a payment holiday until 31 October 2020.

However, it is important to remember that when borrowers apply for new credit, lenders will continue to carry out affordability assessments which uses a range of information beyond a credit file. This will include an analysis of income and expenditure, to assess future ability to make repayments, which may have been affected by COVID-19.