Government 'considering prioritising British citizens for social housing list'

Rishi Sunak has ruled out extra help for people struggling with mortgage payments - as ministers consider prioritising British citizens for social housing lists.

The Prime Minister said the Government needs to 'stick to the plan,' as he was interviewed on ITV's Good Morning Britain.

"I know the anxiety people will have about the mortgage rates, that is why the first priority I set out at the beginning of the year was to halve inflation because that is the best and most important way that we can keep costs and interest rates down for people," he said today.

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"We’ve got a clear plan to do that, it is delivering, we need to stick to the plan. But there is also support available for people. We have the mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers and we have the support for mortgage interest scheme which is there to help people as well.

"But look, that is why my first priority is to halve inflation, one of my other priorities is to cut the waiting lists."

The Times reported the Government is considering prioritising British citizens looking for council housing to cut waiting times.

There are currently more than one million people waiting for social housing, and under current rules, refugees, migrants with visas and people who came on schemes such as Homes for Ukraine are eligible for council homes.

It comes as the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir Charles Bean, said protecting people with mortgages from the pain of interest rate increases would be 'risky territory' for the Government.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said he was 'concerned' by events in the mortgage market.

Mr Gove told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday