The government’s move to guarantee mortgage backed securities has been enthusiastically welcomed by the industry as the drive to improve the housing market continues. The idea was proposed by Sir James Crosby in his report on the mortgage market in November and there were fears that its implementation would be delayed too long to help ease the situation. But last month the government announced it would move forward on the proposal as part of a package of measures to ease the credit crisis. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) “wholeheartedly” welcomed the decision and said that if the scheme was successfully implemented and combined with a range of other markets, it could begin to reverse the housing downturn. <br><br>But the success of the scheme, the Federation added, lay with the bank’s take-up of the facility. John Stewart, HBF’s director of economic affairs, commented: “This is a positive move by government to address the key issue affecting the housing market, namely the lack of mortgage finance. The government must now work with lenders to ensure banks use the facility to assist beleaguered home buyers. This must be the best measure taken so far for arresting the fall of the housing market.” The …