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Welsh Government unveils mortgage support scheme

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THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has announced a new funding package for Welsh homeowners having difficulty paying their mortgage.

Julie James, Wales’s Minister for Housing, unveiled the Help to Stay Wales Mortgage Support Scheme on Tuesday, November 7.

TARGETED SUPPORT

With rising interest rates, energy costs and cost-of-living expenses, many homeowners cannot meet mortgage repayments.

As part of the Co-operation Agreement, the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru considered introducing Local Authority Mortgages. However, that idea is a non-starter.

Instead, the Help to Stay Wales Scheme formed part of discussions about the mortgage market and how the Welsh Government can provide targeted support.

PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE

With increased investment, the Welsh Government aims to prevent many individuals and families from entering possession proceedings and becoming homeless, adding to the already stressed waiting lists and high temporary accommodation costs for Local Authorities.

During 2022-23 and 2023-24, the Welsh Government provided more than £3.3 billion of support to help people struggling with the cost of living through targeted programmes which put money back into people’s pockets.

As part of the budget agreement with Plaid Cymru for 2023-24, £40m repayable capital funding has been made available over this year and next year to bring forward schemes to provide flexible financial support.

WORKING ALONGSIDE EXISTING SCHEMES

Help to Stay Wales will work alongside support offered by mortgage providers through the UK Mortgage Charter for customers struggling to afford their mortgage payments.

The Scheme will provide an option for homeowners who are at serious risk of losing their home by offering a partial repayment of an existing mortgage balance via a low-cost equity loan, secured by a second charge (behind first charge lender), reducing revised mortgage repayments to a level the applicant can afford.

The Development Bank of Wales will operate the Scheme and be interest-free for the first five years.

The purpose of the Scheme is to reduce the number of homeowners at risk of repossession and homelessness by offering them time to resolve their underlying financial issues.

UK FINANCE AND LENDERS SUPPORT SCHEME

Julie James MS said: “The current economic climate presents many challenges for homeowners as they face the significant rise in fuel costs, high inflation, escalating rent and house prices with incomes often not keeping pace.

“The aim of the Help to Stay Wales Scheme is to help homeowners to continue living in their precious homes.

“By widening our current mortgage rescue offer, we can help more people at an earlier stage before they face the awful threat of repossession.

“I would like to thank UK Finance and mortgage lenders already supporting the Scheme. I hope more lenders will provide their support over the coming weeks.

“We will continue to do all we can with our powers to protect vulnerable households through this cost-of-living crisis.”

Designated Member Siân Gwenllian said: “The detailed work undertaken through the Co-operation Agreement on the mortgage market has led to the creation of Help to Stay Wales to support people affected by soaring interest rates.

“By utilising the financial institutions and the powers we currently have in Wales, we have created a Made in Wales solution which will provide direct support to those facing the greatest difficulties.

“Despite having limited powers and resources in this area, our hope is that the direct support being provided in Wales will provide an additional safety net.”

AVOIDING THE STRESS OF REPOSSESSION

Chief Executive for Shelter Cymru, Ruth Power, said: “We’ve been campaigning for more support for homeowners struggling with their mortgage repayments.

“We welcome any initiatives that get upstream to prevent homelessness and widen the safety net for households facing a cost of housing and cost-of-living crisis.

“This Scheme will offer eligible households assistance from the early point of arrears accruing rather than waiting until they face the incredible stress of repossession.

“We must now ensure that as many households as possible have the option to use it to stay in their homes, learning from people at risk of homelessness how best such a scheme can help them.

“Anyone at immediate risk of losing their home can contact Shelter Cymru’s helpline on 08000 495 495 for independent advice.”

Mortgage Rescue, which has operated in Wales since 2008, is still available and remains a valuable last resort, but requires people to already be in possession proceedings to qualify for support.

Help to Stay Wales will extend this to include those facing possession proceedings and financial hardship.

CONSERVATIVES PROPOSE

AMBITIOUS ALTERNATIVE

Welsh Conservative Shadow Housing Minister Janet Finch-Saunders MS said: “It is not the role of the Welsh Government to hand out loans to pay off people’s mortgages.

“The UK Government has already secured a wide range of support directly from mortgage providers to support people.

“The Scheme raises several questions, including whether it is being targeted correctly and why social landlords are not being supported to invest in homes threatened with repossession.”

Speaking to The Herald, Janet Finch-Saunders explained: “A social landlord mortgage rescue scheme can work in two ways.

“The first is through a shared equity loan. If a homeowner qualifies, they will be given an equity loan from a housing association, enabling them to keep up with their mortgage payments. The loan is repayable to the housing association but is interest-free.

“The second option is mortgage to rent. If an individual cannot afford to continue owning a share of their property, the housing association could buy the property and rent it back to the individual.

“Whilst the second option would mean that the individual no longer owns their own home, they would still be able to live there, but by renting from a social landlord.

“Individuals would reach out to the relevant local authority/social landlord, so there would be no preying on struggling homeowners”.

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FM accused of ‘dereliction of duty’ over winter fuel payment cut

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ONLY TWO LETTERS SENT – NEITHER FROM THE FIRST MINISTER

A FREEDOM of Information request by the Welsh Conservatives has revealed that the First Minister has not corresponded with the UK Government regarding the recent cut to the Winter Fuel Payment—despite widespread concern over its impact on pensioners in Wales.

The request, which asked for all correspondence from the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers to the UK Government concerning the Welsh implications of the cut, revealed just two letters had been sent. Neither letter came from the First Minister.

One letter, dated 9 August 2024, was from Jane Hutt, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice. While it acknowledged the potential impact of the cut and estimated that up to 45% of Welsh households may have fallen into fuel poverty after the 2022 energy price surge, it stopped short of directly opposing the UK Government’s decision. Instead, Hutt reiterated the Welsh Government’s call for the introduction of a social energy tariff and highlighted ongoing hardship in Wales​.

The second letter was from Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall, who defended the removal of the universal Winter Fuel Payment on the grounds of fiscal responsibility. In her reply to Jane Hutt, dated 18 September 2024, Kendall emphasised the need to focus support on those “in the greatest need” and criticised the low uptake of Pension Credit among eligible pensioners​.

The revelation that the First Minister has not personally written to the UK Government on the matter has sparked sharp criticism from the Welsh Conservatives.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar MS said: “The First Minister’s failure to stand up for Welsh pensioners and oppose Keir Starmer’s cut to winter fuel is nothing short of a dereliction of duty.

“It is clear that for Labour at both ends of the M4, older people—who have paid into a system their entire lives—are just an afterthought.

“The Welsh Conservatives will protect our pensioners by rolling back increased spending on Labour’s bureaucracy budget to introduce a new Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance, so that pensioners won’t have to choose between heating and eating.”

The FOI response has raised wider questions about the Welsh Government’s influence over UK-wide policy decisions that have significant effects in devolved areas such as public health and poverty.

The Herald understands that while the Welsh Government has advocated for energy fairness and introduced support schemes within its limited powers, no official protest or direct appeal from the First Minister’s office was made over the withdrawal of universal Winter Fuel Payments.

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Entertainment

Zulu children’s choir to perform in Pembrokeshire as part of UK tour

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A CHOIR of young South African singers is returning to Wales as part of its latest UK tour, with performances and busking dates confirmed in St Davids and Cardiff.

The Project Zulu Choir, made up of 20 children aged 11 to 14 from two township schools in KwaZulu-Natal, will arrive in the UK on May 17. Over the following three weeks, they will showcase their vibrant traditional Zulu songs and dances at venues across the South West.

Their Pembrokeshire stop includes a visit to St Davids, where they will be hosted by Celtic Camping. The choir will busk in the city centre on Sunday, May 26, followed by a full concert at Celtic Camping on Monday, May 27. They will then travel to Cardiff for a final day of busking on Tuesday, May 28.

Ian Griffiths, owner of Celtic Camping, said: “It has been an immense privilege over the years to host and foster a wonderful relationship with the Project Zulu Choir. The venue here will provide a fantastic setting for them to perform, and a memorable experience for everyone to enjoy.”

Every pound raised during the tour will go directly towards improving educational facilities at the choir members’ schools back home in South Africa.

Last year’s tour raised a record-breaking £32,000, and organisers are hoping to surpass that figure in 2024.

Dr Benjamin Knight, director of Project Zulu, said: “The choir will bring boundless energy and charisma during their tour, projecting their incredible sound and thrilling audiences. Every ticket bought and every donation made will directly impact young people’s futures.”

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Fury as ex-MP Simon Hart handed peerage

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Tell-all book and Nazi graffiti scandal reignite calls for answers

FORMER South Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart is facing mounting criticism over his appointment to the House of Lords—amid fresh outrage over his decision to publish a revealing political memoir and lingering questions about the “swastika saga” involving defaced campaign material once in his own possession.

Hart, who was MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire from 2010 until he stood down last year, appeared on Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list and is now set to take a seat in the Lords. But his peerage has sparked anger from senior Conservatives, who say Hart breached trust by publishing ‘Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip’, which contains personal and salacious anecdotes about MPs who confided in him while he held one of the most sensitive roles in government.

The Herald understands that at least one sitting Tory MP wrote to the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) in an attempt to block the nomination, arguing Hart had violated the Nolan Principles—guidelines designed to maintain integrity in public life.

Backlash: Senior Conservatives say Hart breached trust by publishing memoir

In the book, Hart recounts incidents involving MPs caught in compromising situations, including one who allegedly called the whips’ office for help after becoming stranded in a brothel. Critics say the publication undermines the confidential nature of the whips’ office, which exists partly to offer pastoral support to MPs during times of personal crisis.

Former defence minister Sir Alec Shelbrooke branded the book “appalling” and said it risked breaking the trust that Parliament depends on: “If MPs can’t trust the whips, the system will break down,” he said.

But questions about Hart’s judgement don’t stop there.

Back in 2019, The Pembrokeshire Herald revealed that Hart had shared an image of a defaced campaign poster—infamously bearing the phrase “WILL STARVE YOUR NAN AND STEAL HER HOUSE!”—which had been further altered with Nazi swastikas at some point between its original appearance in 2017 and its reappearance two years later during Hart’s re-election campaign.

Swastikas were added to election sign after it was taken from public display

Mr Hart had kept the already-defaced poster in his personal possession during that time, and critics pointed out that the two swastikas—absent from the original image—were added while the sign was no longer in public display. Hart refused to explain the additions, dismissing questions from the Herald as “totally outrageous” and claiming it was political mischief by opponents.

Local campaigner Jim Scott, who spotted the differences between the 2017 and 2019 images, asked: “Who had access to the sign in those two years? And why were the swastikas added later?”

The Herald broke the Swastika story on its front page in 2019

The incident caused national embarrassment and raised eyebrows in Westminster, especially as Hart leveraged the graffiti controversy to campaign for civility in politics and even secured a seat on the parliamentary Standards in Public Life Committee on the back of it.

Despite these controversies—and his refusal to address them publicly—Hart has now been rewarded with a life peerage.

One former Tory MP told the BBC: “You’d expect a chief whip to get a peerage, but doing so after publishing a book like that? It’s very odd.”

Hart has not responded to requests for comment from The Pembrokeshire Herald this week. His publisher, Pan Macmillan, also declined to issue a statement.

Meanwhile, former immigration minister Kevin Foster labelled Sunak’s honours list “a reward for failure,” describing it as “a list of Sunak’s mates.”

The Herald stands by its original reporting on the swastika poster and continues to invite Mr Hart to offer a full and credible public explanation.

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