Taxpayers could underwrite mortgage loans

12 April 2012

Help for first-time buyers struggling to get on the housing ladder is among growth strategy measures being worked on by ministers.

Under plans being looked at by Chancellor George Osborne, the taxpayer could underwrite part of their mortgages in order to give banks greater confidence to lend to people who cannot afford a big deposit.

The measure is among several proposed by the Confederation of British Industry. Others include a scheme to encourage bosses to take on young people without qualifications.

There could also be special aid for companies such as glassworks and smelters which, as high users of energy, are being hit hard by price rises combined with green taxes.

The Treasury said it was "pure speculation" that the measures could be unveiled in the Autumn Statement, a week on Tuesday.

David Cameron today announced a £250million government fund to improve skills and vocational training. Companies will be able to bid for cash to boost their workforce's abilities, targeting young jobless people. Money will be diverted from colleges and other training providers and given directly to firms.

The Prime Minister said the Government was "determined to do all we can to give people the very best skills, training and opportunities to succeed", and despite tough spending decisions was "investing in record numbers of apprenticeships".

But Ed Miliband said the Government should "change course" in the face of warnings from Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King that the dangers of a double-dip recession had increased. The Labour leader urged Mr Cameron: "Don't believe those who would tell you any change in course will make us like Greece.

"As the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said, the markets are as worried about the lack of growth in the economy as they are about debt levels."

Labour calculates that the Government could be forced to borrow up to £109billion more than planned over the next four years because of lower growth and higher unemployment costs.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in