Lunchtime news Tuesday 29 July 2023

A Treasury report looking at ways of reviving the mortgage market and headed by Sir James Crosby, has been released today. The report warns there is no quick fix and predicts that the shortage of mortgage finance will continue throughout this year and into 2010. It suggests ways of propping up mortgage lenders by allowing them to swap mortgage-backed securities for government bonds and argues against a US-style government agency to tackle the crisis. The funding of home loans should be left to the market, it concludes – albeit with some help from the government. The full report will be published in September.

The House of Lords is to rule on whether local authorities must rehouse people living in overcrowded conditions. Birmingham City Council is bringing the case after losing an appeal earlier this year, claiming there would be ‘dramatic financial consequences’ if it was forced to relocate all families living in overcrowded accommodation. The case is expected to be heard later this year.

The Conservatives are setting out their plans to tackle the ‘huge social gulf’ between the rich and poor in Britain’s cities. Shadow work and pensions minister Chris Grayling said the consequences of not bridging the gap were ‘enormous’ and set out a five-point plan, including better support for community groups working in deprived areas, job placements for 18-21 year olds, and a specialist ‘welfare to work’ programme in the poorest neighbourhoods. Both the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties said that the speech was just a rehash of old ideas.

Abbey National has taken over from Halifax as the UK’s largest mortgage lender. It now holds one in three new mortgages across the country, compared with one in five by Halifax. This is double the worth of mortgages since the same period last year. Halifax remains the largest mortgage lender in gross market share, which includes existing and new mortgages.

Yesterday the Land Registry released its house price report for May showing a fall of 0.1 per cent, meaning prices according to its estimate are approximately 3 per cent higher than this time last year. The Bank of England’s mortgage lending figures are also out, and underline the slowdown in the market. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to 36,000 in June, down from 41,000 in May, and down 68.4 per cent on last year.

And finally, a couple whose home has been blighted by the noise from a wind farm have won a 20 per cent reduction in council tax. Although investigators did not find any noise problems they did concede that the construction of the wind farm had a ‘significant detrimental effect on the… enjoyment of their property’.