Clause 27
Welfare Reform Bill
1:30 pm
Anne McGuire (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Disabled People), Department for Work and Pensions; Stirling, Labour)
It is good to see you in the Chair, Mr. Amess. I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has raised the subject in his amendment. I respect the admirable intentions behind it. As he indicated, to a certain extent it follows on from comments made by the hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt).
I reassure the Committee that we already have powers to make different provisions for different classes of people under section 175 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. We can also make different provisions for different areas under section 175(6). However, more importantly, adding the qualification suggested by the amendment to the local housing allowance would undermine its main advantages of simplicity, transparency and fairness.
I hope that the Committee accepts that the majority of disabled recipients live in the social rented sector and will not be covered by the local housing allowance. As I said during a debate on a previous amendment, the discretionary housing payment scheme is also in place. That flexible system will enable the local authority to target help to those who most need it.
I turn to the relevant issue of live-in carers. If the dwelling is the carer’s normal place of residence, the carer will be included as an occupier in the housing benefit calculation; the customer will be entitled to an additional room and a non-dependant deduction will be made. We recognise the different issues; I have already mentioned the charitable and voluntary sectors. The local housing allowance has a built-in flexibility, at an individual level, through discretionary payments. I hope that, with that reassurance, the hon. Gentleman will feel free to withdraw his amendment.