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21/04/09 : Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme is real "sigh-of-relief time" - Labour :
Labour's Lead Councillor for Housing Deborah Edwards has welcomed the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme announced by Margaret Beckett today - the scheme that allows borrowers suffering a temporary loss of income to cut their mortgage payments for up to two years. They will not be at risk of repossession as their loans will be guaranteed by the Government.
Cllr. Edwards says: "We are all going through tough times, but this scheme should remove the fear of losing your home, one of the most terrible things that can happen to any family. The Tories offered nothing like this during the early 1990's when thousands of homes were repossessed, but this Labour Government truly cares."
The scheme is open from today to people who have mortgages with Lloyds Bank Group (which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland), Bradford and Bingley, Northern Rock, the Royal Bank of Scotland (which includes NatWest and Ulster Bank), Cumberland Building Society, and the National Australia Bank Group (which includes Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank). Bank of Ireland (which includes Bristol and West), GMAC, GE Money, Kensington Mortgages, the Post Office and Standard Life Bank will join very shortly, and four other high street lenders, Barclays (including First Plus), HSBC, Nationwide and Santander (including Abbey and Alliance and Leicester) have all confirmed today they will offer comparable arrangements to HMS to their customers, while opting not to take up the Government guarantee. Altogether 80% of the mortgage market will be covered.
Cllr. Edwards says: "The Government has put a lot of money into stabilizing the banking system, and this is part of the return, a sort of sigh-of-relief time! I've asked Council officers to publicise HMS on the Council's website, but expect the local branches of the banks and building societies will also be well-briefed, and hope that anybody who feels this scheme is for them makes contact with their lender early and asks for details."
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