Prime minister Rishi Sunak is refusing to consider a mortgage protection fund to help households struggling to cope with rising mortgage payments.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Sunak declined to back extra support for mortgage holders – specifically a £3bn mortgage protection fund which was proposed by the Lib Dems at the end of last week.

The prime minister said the government needs to “stick to the plan”, and that his top priority remains bringing inflation down.

Rather than consider an additional protection fund, he pointed to the mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers and the support of the  mortgage interest scheme.

Simon Webb, managing director of capital markets and finance at LiveMore is not surprised that a protection fund remains off the agenda.

“Government intervention in the mortgage market is inappropriate and likely to have unforeseen consequences. If the government did set up a mortgage protection fund, homeowners would still have to repay the money back at a later date. Lenders already have forbearance options so if borrowers are struggling with higher mortgage rates they should speak to their lender about what solutions may be available”.

He adds: “Many lenders offer a payment holiday for up to six months or they could stretch the term to bring down monthly repayments. For those on capital and repayment mortgages, they may be able to switch temporarily to interest-only or part and part.”