REDUCING NUMBERS OF HOME REPOSSESSIONS

That this House notes the Council of Mortgage Lenders' estimate that repossessions will rise to 45,000 homes this year; further notes that lenders are becoming more aggressive in reducing the debt they were more than happy to take on a few months ago; understands the misery caused to families and children in particular when their home is repossessed; congratulates the Government on introducing a discretionary pre-repossession protocol for judges which will help to prevent avoidable repossessions; and urges the Government to make this protocol a statutory requirement by embodying it in primary legislation.