Philip Hammond has called for urgent action to revive the housing market after mortgage lending fell to its second lowest figure on record.
Statistics from the Bank of England show that net mortgage lending fell from £1.49 billion in September to £459 million in October, a decrease of 69%.
Philip, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said, “With mortgage lending still at all-time lows, this is yet more evidence that the stamp duty holiday and the Government’s bank rescue package have failed to revive Britain’s flagging housing market.”
He stressed that while millions of pounds of taxpayer money was used to rescue the banks, the Government has not yet provided enough help for the real economy:
“Unless action is taken to address the faltering supply of credit to families, homeowners and businesses, Britain will struggle to shake off this recession.”