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Business of the House

I suggest that the hon. Gentleman seek a meeting with one of the Ministry of Defence Ministers about his constituent's concerns. The hon. Gentleman will know, because he follows these matters closely, that we have given priority in the NHS to returning members of our armed forces. We are reviewing the provision in primary care for former members of our armed forces. There are major issues relating to housing, which he touched on and which were raised in our recent debate on the armed forces. However, perhaps he should seek a meeting with a relevant Minister to try to help his constituent further. Mr. Speaker, I forgot to answer the important point about the home owners mortgage support scheme that the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) raised. I think that there is a genuine misunderstanding. Eighty per cent. of lending for mortgages is covered under the scheme, because those who lend into 80 per cent. of the mortgage market have signed up to it. That means that we will back those lenders so that they can allow people who get into difficulty with their mortgage interest payments to defer them, either in whole or in part, for up to two years. That means that those people will not face repossession, which is very important indeed. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that 80 per cent. of mortgages are covered by the scheme, but it is not the first thing that we have done. We have also brought forward the point at which people can claim payments through social security benefits for their mortgage payments, from 39 to 13 weeks, and we have increased the amount for which people can claim in interest. We have also issued rules for the courts, so that repossession ought to be the last resort and not the first, and agreed a moratorium with all building societies and banks, so that they should not take any repossession proceedings for at least three months. The home owners mortgage support scheme is not the first thing that we have done; it is one of a number of things that we have done, and it covers 80 per cent. of the mortgage market.