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The government says that its Help to Buy scheme has assisted people trying to get on the housing ladder who can afford mortgage repayments but who have struggled to raise a deposit.

But critics say that the government guarantee, that formed part of the second phase of the scheme, has helped to increase prices.

With the end of the mortgage guarantee part of the scheme in December 2016, the only remaining Help to Buy programme is the equity loan scheme, which now operates just in England.

It applies only to newly-built homes.