Vince Cable praises Oldham Lib Dem plans to save people from mortgage misery

12.51.00pm GMT Fri 17th Oct 2008

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable, has praised local plans to help people with mortgage difficulties on a visit to Oldham and Saddleworth.

Elwyn Watkins, Oldham East & Saddleworth parliamentary hopeful, said: "Vince Cable praised the council for coming up with innovative, local solutions which could help people facing repossession or otherwise hit by the current economic situation.

"We were very pleased to receive such praise from a man who has been proved right about the economy time and again. He knows that we face tough times and I support the Lib Dem call for tax cuts and interest rate cuts to help people get money back into their pocket."

Vince Cable said that he would be taking the briefing, which outlined measures being taken by Oldham Council to support home owners and the local housing market, back to Westminster to distribute it more widely as an example of good practice.

In a speech to local Liberal Democrats, he said that the plans were a good example of how people could be saved from repossession with a little local ingenuity.

Vince said: "It is scandalous that unscrupulous lenders are forcing people from their homes without giving them a chance to fix their financial situation.

"Mortgage possession claims issued by County Courts in the North West have doubled in the last five years. Over 1,000 claims each were issued in County Courts in Oldham, Manchester, Salford, St Helens and Blackpool in 2007, with over 2,000 claims issued in Liverpool last year.

"These shocking figures show that Councils urgently need to find a way to work more closely with mortgage lenders to stem the tide of mortgage possession claims being issued by their local County Courts.

"The Government has now stepped in to invest in banks and building societies, making money available to support the housing market, as I called for some time ago.

"The Council of Mortgage Lenders' Code of Conduct must be made law to ensure that repossession is only ever a last resort.

"There must now be action at a local level too. A Council and Mortgage Lenders Forum would look at the details of particular problems being faced by local lenders and what steps can be taken to slash the numbers of cases going to the County Courts, rather than discuss individual mortgages."

Measures included in the briefing which have been implemented by Oldham Council, under Lib Dem leadership since May 2008, include:

• the expansion of the Council's Equity Loan Scheme to enable loans to be offered to owners of long-term empty properties to bring them back into use - there are 2,500 empty homes in Oldham Borough at present

• using the Council's capital receipts and Section 106 planning monies to buy and rent back former Right to Buy Council houses to stop vulnerable residents becoming homeless

• a publicity campaign, praised by Civil Servants nationally, to warn people about the dangers of selling their homes in a panic to predatory private investors who may then force them out.