By . Daniel Martin, Whitehall Correspondent . Banks are to extend their opening hours to meet demand for low-deposit mortgages backed by the Government. David Cameron announced last night that the Help To Buy scheme, which provides 95 per cent mortgages, will start next week – three months ahead of schedule. Brushing aside accusations that it will lead to a housing bubble, the Prime Minister said he had acted to prevent first-time buyers’ dreams of owning a home being ‘trashed’. Home: Minster David Cameron toured the Egerton Green housing development with James Oliver and Emily Jones as he announced more help for first-time buyers . State-owned RBS bank said last night . it was expecting to be so inundated with applications that many of its . branches would remain open later. The three-year, £12billion Help To . Buy scheme will give tens of thousands the chance to buy a house worth . up to £600,000 with just a 5 per cent deposit. The Government will . underwrite an additional 15 per cent of the loan to make the deal . attractive to lenders. RBS and NatWest will be the first to . start offering the cheap mortgages, followed by the Halifax. HSBC, . Santander, Nationwide and Barclays have yet to decide whether to take . part. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr . Show at the start of the Tory conference in Manchester, Mr Cameron said: . ‘The Bank of England said expressly, “There isn’t a bubble”. The housing market is recovering, but . from a low base. If you look at prices outside London and the South . East, they’re only going up by 0.8 per cent. Adverts: NatWest and RBS have launched a marketing campaign as it prepares to extend its opening hours to deal with demand for the state-backed mortgages . Building: The government hopes the Help to Buy scheme will encourage construction firms to start work on more new homes . David Cameron would block a mansion tax after the next election, even if he was forced into another coalition. The Liberal Democrat's have long argued for a levy on multi-million pound homes, with Labour also backing the idea. But Mr Cameron made clear that for as long as the Tories are in power he will block the plan. But he suggested council tax and stamp duty could be used to raise more money. He told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'I don't think this is a good idea. 'I want to live in a country where people work hard, they save and they put money into their homes. 'I think it's right people pay council tax, it's right people pay stamp duty - and we put that up - but to go after someone's house every year with a wealth tax, I don't think that's a sensible thing to do. 'I have never been in favour of this idea. I think it's a bad idea.' Asked if voters could be sure that there would be no mansion tax if he was Prime Minister after the next election, Mr Cameron added: . 'That's correct. Stamp duty yes, council tax yes, but I think wealth taxes are not sensible for a country if it wants to support wealth creation, wants to reward saving and people who work hard and do the right thing.' ‘Talk of a housing bubble to people here in Manchester and they will laugh in your face. ‘As Prime Minister, I’m not going to . stand back while people’s aspirations to get on the housing ladder, to . own their own flat, to own their own home, are being trashed. That’s why . we need to act.’ He said a housing market that . required young professionals to pay a £50,000 deposit was ‘broken’, . adding: ‘If you haven’t got rich parents you can’t get that sort of . money.’ Ross McEwan, the new boss of RBS . Group, said details of  a range of mortgages for first and second-time . buyers will be released within days to help at least 25,000 people. He added: ‘Despite the economy . recovering, we know many families are finding it tough  to get a . mortgage deposit together. We are committed to helping as many people . as  possible across Britain to get on with their lives, to buy their . first home, to move to a bigger house as their family grows.’ But Business Secretary Vince Cable warned that it ‘could inflate the market’ and create a housing bubble. Former Bank of England  governor Lord King suggested it was ‘too close for comfort’ to a general scheme to guarantee mortgages. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: ‘If . David Cameron is serious about helping first-time buyers, he should be . bringing forward investment to build more affordable homes. Under this Government, housebuilding is at its lowest level since the 1920s.’
Help To Buy .
scheme will start next week, three months ahead of schedule .
Prime Minister: 'I will not stand by while people's aspirations are trashed'
But critics say 'dangerous' scheme from Cameron will 'inflate the market'
By . Daniel Martin, Whitehall Correspondent . Banks are to extend their opening hours to meet demand for low-deposit mortgages backed by the Government. David Cameron announced last night that the Help To Buy scheme, which provides 95 per cent mortgages, will start next week – three months ahead of schedule. Brushing aside accusations that it will lead to a housing bubble, the Prime Minister said he had acted to prevent first-time buyers’ dreams of owning a home being ‘trashed’. Home: Minster David Cameron toured the Egerton Green housing development with James Oliver and Emily Jones as he announced more help for first-time buyers . State-owned RBS bank said last night . it was expecting to be so inundated with applications that many of its . branches would remain open later. The three-year, £12billion Help To . Buy scheme will give tens of thousands the chance to buy a house worth . up to £600,000 with just a 5 per cent deposit. The Government will . underwrite an additional 15 per cent of the loan to make the deal . attractive to lenders. RBS and NatWest will be the first to . start offering the cheap mortgages, followed by the Halifax. HSBC, . Santander, Nationwide and Barclays have yet to decide whether to take . part. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr . Show at the start of the Tory conference in Manchester, Mr Cameron said: . ‘The Bank of England said expressly, “There isn’t a bubble”. The housing market is recovering, but . from a low base. If you look at prices outside London and the South . East, they’re only going up by 0.8 per cent. Adverts: NatWest and RBS have launched a marketing campaign as it prepares to extend its opening hours to deal with demand for the state-backed mortgages . Building: The government hopes the Help to Buy scheme will encourage construction firms to start work on more new homes . David Cameron would block a mansion tax after the next election, even if he was forced into another coalition. The Liberal Democrat's have long argued for a levy on multi-million pound homes, with Labour also backing the idea. But Mr Cameron made clear that for as long as the Tories are in power he will block the plan. But he suggested council tax and stamp duty could be used to raise more money. He told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'I don't think this is a good idea. 'I want to live in a country where people work hard, they save and they put money into their homes. 'I think it's right people pay council tax, it's right people pay stamp duty - and we put that up - but to go after someone's house every year with a wealth tax, I don't think that's a sensible thing to do. 'I have never been in favour of this idea. I think it's a bad idea.' Asked if voters could be sure that there would be no mansion tax if he was Prime Minister after the next election, Mr Cameron added: . 'That's correct. Stamp duty yes, council tax yes, but I think wealth taxes are not sensible for a country if it wants to support wealth creation, wants to reward saving and people who work hard and do the right thing.' ‘Talk of a housing bubble to people here in Manchester and they will laugh in your face. ‘As Prime Minister, I’m not going to . stand back while people’s aspirations to get on the housing ladder, to . own their own flat, to own their own home, are being trashed. That’s why . we need to act.’ He said a housing market that . required young professionals to pay a £50,000 deposit was ‘broken’, . adding: ‘If you haven’t got rich parents you can’t get that sort of . money.’ Ross McEwan, the new boss of RBS . Group, said details of  a range of mortgages for first and second-time . buyers will be released within days to help at least 25,000 people. He added: ‘Despite the economy . recovering, we know many families are finding it tough  to get a . mortgage deposit together. We are committed to helping as many people . as  possible across Britain to get on with their lives, to buy their . first home, to move to a bigger house as their family grows.’ But Business Secretary Vince Cable warned that it ‘could inflate the market’ and create a housing bubble. Former Bank of England governor Lord King suggested it was ‘too close for comfort’ to a general scheme to guarantee mortgages. Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: ‘If . David Cameron is serious about helping first-time buyers, he should be . bringing forward investment to build more affordable homes. Under this Government, housebuilding is at its lowest level since the 1920s.’
per cent mortgages, will start next week – three months ahead of schedule. Brushing aside £12billion Help To . Buy scheme will give tens of Prime Minister, I’m not going to . stand back while people’s aspirations to get on the housing warned that it ‘could inflate the market’ and