A financial expert has called for the government’s Help to Buy scheme to not be extended after its intended three-year lifespan.

Paul Smee, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said that he couldn’t see any reason as to why the scheme should continue into 2017, according to Mortgage Strategy.

While giving evidence to MPs, Mr Smee encouraged the government to reveal what its exit strategy was for the scheme. He suggested the scheme’s fees could gradually be increased and that both the maximum loan-to-value and loan size should be lowered.

Mr Smee added: “The taper should be determined soon. I am not saying when it should start, but before three years so that the scheme can close after three years, which I believe is the intention.”

George Osborne recently said that the government-guaranteed mortgage scheme would end in 2016, after three years. Financial analysts have called for the scheme to be altered in some way, after Halifax reported that house prices had increased by seven per cent year-on-year in the three months leading up to November.