Time for mortgage benefits

<p>In recent years there has been a dramatic growth both in the number of homes being repossessed and in the number of families with substantial mortgage arrears. In 1980 around 3,500 homes were repossessd. In 1990 that figure had risen more than tenfold to 44,000, and it is likely to have risen to more than 80,000 in 1991. Meanwhile the number of families in mortgage arrears has risen sharply, with more than 200,000 families in arrears of six months or more by mid-1991, up from just 16,000 in 1980. In this paper we analyse this growth in arrears, and explain why the 'safety net' provided by income support has failed to prevent rising numbers of repossessions.</p>