Housing Minister John Healey today announced plans to set up a new 'central team' to fast-track help for urgent home repossession cases.

The news comes on the day that the DCLG revealed the total number of households across the country assisted by the Mortgage Rescue Scheme had advanced from two at the end of April to six at the end of May. The original intention was to help 6,000 families faced by repossession.

The figures came in for criticism from Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable who warned that the number of repossessions is likely to soar over the next two years.

But John Healey defending the Government over its efforts to help struggling homeowners.

He said: “We have put in place help for homeownwers struggling with their mortgage at every step of the way - from free debt advice when problems start, to free support for cases that reach court. Extra protections have also been put in place so lenders can only repossess homes as a last resort.

“By learning the lessons from the 1990s, over 200,000 families each month are now receiving direct assistance to stay in their home, and thousands more have been able to benefit from free advice following launch of initiatives such as the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

“To make sure families are getting the support they need through the Mortgage Rescue Scheme, I can confirm that from next month a new central team will operate to manage and fast-track the cases of those most at risk of repossession.  

“The Council of Mortgage Lenders have said that because of the range of government and industry initiatives in place, more people are getting valuable help and advice. This month the CML also revised down their forecast for the number of repossessions they expect this year in the UK." 

The £285 million Mortgage Rescue Scheme (MRS) has been put in place by Government to support up to 6,000 of the most vulnerable homeowners facing repossession to remain in their home, over two years.

It allows eligible households to either sell a part share in their home and reduce monthly payments or sell their home and remain in the property as a tenant paying an affordable rent.

Mr Healey added: "We have recently enhanced the scheme to allow households previously excluded due to negative equity to access this form of support, and injected a further £80 million into the scheme."

"The Mortgage Rescue Scheme is just one of many levels of extra protection for borrowers facing difficulties right now. These include a new pre-court action protocol for all the main high street lenders, quicker and more extensive support to home owners who have lost their job, new Homeowners Mortgage Support for households who suffer a temporary drop in income, and a major extension of free debt and legal advice. 

"Since the MRS launch in January, over a thousand households struggling with their mortgage have received free advice from their local authority each month.

"By end of May, over 200 households had benefited from action through the scheme to stop the immediate threat of repossession, with a further 295 households being assessed."

The full stats can be found at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/mortgagerescuestatistics