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Repossession and Mortgage Arrears

I understand that in April and May there were discussions around the country involving about 800 families. Such discussions are useful because they provide a way of delaying and possibly heading off repossessions. None the less, of those 800, only a tiny fraction are considered eligible, such is the tight definition of the rules. My hon. Friend's experience in Greater Manchester is similar to that of other hon. Members around the country. That is why I am pressing the Minister to indicate that the Government are a little bit more open to flexibility in that area. Thirdly, the mortgage support scheme, under which various lenders help in rolling up interest—in effect, to defer arrears problems—gives families facing short-term unemployment an opportunity to ride out the recession. The problem, which is reported to us by the voluntary organisations dealing with it, is that nobody is quite sure which lenders are operating the scheme and which are not. There is a strange kind of secrecy hanging over the scheme. There are no published data on which mortgage lenders are co-operating and which are not. Perhaps the Minister will clarify the Government's position and tell us why there is no published list. I gather that GE, which is one of the more controversial lenders and which has not been part of the scheme, is now saying that it will be part of it, but there is nothing in writing and no indication about when that involvement is to start. In addition, some of the small building societies are not parties to the scheme. Why is the list not published? Can there not be some indication about which lenders are involved in the scheme, simply to help the various advisers in citizens advice bureaux and other places, so that they know who is co-operating and who is not? That would make their lives and those of people in arrears easier, because at the moment there is something of a lottery and a great deal of uncertainty. Fourthly, and finally, I should like to mention the ISMI scheme—income support for mortgage interest—which everybody concerned with this business accepts has been the most successful of the Government's initiatives. The origins of that scheme lie in the fact that despite the urgings over the last two decades, few people have been able or willing to obtain mortgage protection insurance policies. Only 17 per cent. of all borrowers are covered by insurance, which is why, in a period of downturn such as the one we are in, large numbers of people are exposed. Bringing mortgage payments within the social security system provides a necessary fall-back for people in difficulty. There is some uncertainty about that. Perhaps the Minister will clarify the Government's thinking. I understand that a two-year maximum is applied to the scheme. We are not yet two years into the crisis, but an awful lot of people in long-term unemployment will find themselves in severe difficulties once the scheme terminates. Do the Government have any flexibility in terms of the periods of time involved?