Clause 5 - Procedure
Age-Related Payments Bill
10:15 am
Professor Steve Webb (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Work & Pensions; Northavon, Liberal Democrat)
Two issues are involved in this group of amendments. They relate to the take up of council tax benefit and to the take up of winter fuel payment, and, by extension the one-off age-related payment.
Amendment No. 11 is intended to ensure that when people receive the so-called universal payment, which we have discovered is means-tested, they also receive information about council tax benefit. Again we must suspend disbelief and assume that the Bill is being introduced for the reasons given by the Government rather than for the real ones. That is to say, we must assume that it is intended to help pensioners pay their council tax, although one might have thought that encouraging people to claim the benefit that covers council tax was the best way to help with that. It is indicative of the fact that the Government have more or less given up on ever making headway on that front that they are introducing a separate payment to help old people to pay it. They do not think that council tax benefit will ever reach all the people that they want it to get to.
I am sure that the Minister will tell us about the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Gravesham (Mr. Pond), and all the wonderful work that he is doing to encourage pensioner take-up of council tax benefit. However, I think that the percentage of eligible pensioners claiming it has fallen under this Government. The absolute numbers have increased, but that is partly because council taxes have gone up. That is not a reason for celebration, although the Minister seems to think that it is. No doubt, he will tell us that the situation is great because the Government are paying more council tax benefit to more pensioners.