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)
Indeed.
There are two main reasons why the number of pensioners on council tax benefit has increased. It need not have done. One is that the thresholds increased when the pension credit was introduced, which further indicates the complexity of the Government's means-testing approach. The other is that council taxes have increased. I forget the exact figure, but it something like 70 per cent. under this Government. They should not claim too much credit for driving more people into poverty and the need to claim council tax benefit, then say that that is a policy triumph. Under this Government the proportion of pensioners who get the
help with council tax that the state believes they need has fallen. That is critical. The take-up rates, as a percentage of those who are eligible, have fallen.