There is nothing new in an attempt by a government to boost its image by giving householders help with their debts. In fact there is evidence of such a strategy in AD117. A frieze in the British Museum's Hadrian exhibition shows the newly elected Roman emperor winning hearts and minds by burning the wax tablets on which the tax liabilities of the citizenry were inscribed.

Earlier this month Alistair Darling also seemed convinced that the temporary extinction of a tax was the solution to homeowners' woes. A stamp duty holiday was mooted to help first-time buyers and thus reinvigorate the whole housing market.

But, as we now know to our cost, the suggestion that stamp duty bills might be deferred has had the opposite effect, with buyers withdrawing from deals in the almost certainly mistaken belief that Darling plans to exempt everyone from the tax.

If he now waits until the Autumn Budget to disabuse the hopeful of this notion, he will have dealt more damage to the housing market. He will only inflict more pain if a stamp duty freeze is his sole housing measure.

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• We need stamp duty reforms, not rumours

BACKGROUND

• A new plan to fight the fear of repossession

• The rise of the accidental landlord

• What America's Fannie and Freddie mortgage crisis can teach us

• We need stamp duty reforms, not rumours

BACKGROUND

• Housebuyers know about the credit crunch: why doesn't Government?

• Government confirm eco towns must meet zero carbon target

• Salford illustrates the national flight to quality

• How the credit crunch will (eventually) fade

However, just in case the Chancellor lacks the Emperor Hadrian's forcefulness and ingenuity (which, somehow, you suspect to be so), there are plenty of people willing to supply him with sound proposals to reduce mortgage arrears and repossessions. These are rising - albeit from a small base - posing a threat to the housing market, which continues to suffer from a lack of confidence. Nationwide figures this week showed further price declines this month. The average house price is now £164,654, down 10.5 per cent on a year ago, although the pace of decline is slowing.

This week Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, has given his support to the Council for Mortgage Lenders' proposals for a national mortgage rescue scheme.

Under this plan, housing associations would aid desperate homeowners facing repossession by taking a share of their properties, so allowing them to stay put. Homeowners who benefit would pay interest on a smaller, more manageable mortgage and rent to the housing association, while receiving guidance on their financial plight.

Housing association are not-for- profit organisations that control £74billion of housing - some are as big as FTSE100 companies. Their strong financial position - which some banks would envy - makes them ideal for this role.

As a Google search reveals, mortgage rescue services are already offered by some private sector businesses. But the customers of some of these operators have not received fair values for their homes and risk being thrown out on the street because they do not have security of tenure.

Would Darling rather tacitly approve the activities of such firms or back the housing associations in the drive to curb repossessions? Unfortunately we must wait until the Autumn Budget to know his mind on these matters.

A thirst for profit

Lance Armstrong, the former champion cyclist, has been making headlines in his local paper not for his feats on two wheels but for his record use of water at his mansion in Austin, Texas: 222,900 gallons in June, equivalent to the needs of 26 households.

This is one title that a shamed Armstrong will not wish to retain, especially since his bill for the month was $1,623 (£883). But he might now endorse the publication of bills for all utilities as a means of making everyone more aware of the impact on their pockets and on the planet of their energy-profligate ways.

This winter UK households face double-digit fuel price rises and if the Government imposes a windfall tax on the energy companies this levy will be be passed on to consumers.

All this should be encouraging people to insulate their properties and dig out thick sweaters. But would there not be a greater incentive if bills were made publicly available - in the same way as the price you paid for your house, a figure easily obtainable on several websites? There would be red faces for big spenders and a glow of eco-conscious pride for those who had been frugal.

Maybe such information sharing would be seen as an invasion of privacy. But, with the typical fuel bill set to rise to at least £1,500, the cost of running your home is guaranteed to be a question asked by strangers when you come to sell the property.

Parson's pleasure

A Georgian rectory remains the dream home of most of those househunting in the country. But Lutyens country houses are top of the wish-list of those who prefer the more rambling Arts&Crafts style and have the millions to invest in this passion. We picture above, however, a more reasonably priced example of Lutyens' work (just £499,000), a cottage in the Kentish hamlet of Rolvenden Layne, on sale through Humberts (01580 765858).

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