Clause 36
Welfare Reform Bill
10:30 am
Anne McGuire (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Disabled People), Department for Work and Pensions; Stirling, Labour)
Thank you, Mr. Hood. It is a delight to be back here this morning. I have suffered withdrawal symptoms for the past two weeks when we have not been here, as I am sure all my colleagues have done. I missed the weather forecast from the highlands and islands—so much so, that I have been forced to listen to the shipping forecast at10 minutes to 1 in the morning on Radio 4, before hearing the in-shore forecast for fishermen. Anyway, that is enough of that. Those of us who were in the highlands and islands at the weekend know that when a force 10 gale blows, it can fair blow. We have great understanding and sympathy for those who are in the margins, in the more fragile areas, in terms of the weather, in the United Kingdom.
The hon. Members for Weston-super-Mare and for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey have raised some positive points on financial inclusion. They have also highlighted the issue of those who are not able to manage their own funds. We agree that direct payment is not appropriate for all claimants. In the pathfinder areas, we put in place safeguards to ensure that, if a claimant could not manage their own affairs, payment went to the landlord. Having built that in in pathfinder areas, we would have the same intention when rolling out the programme, because it has worked well.
On funding during the roll-out, I am not sure whether we have yet received recommendations from the Select Committee on the Treasury, but I understand that it is looking at the issue of financial inclusion. I can confirm that we will provide funding alongside the local housing allowance roll-out to support local authorities in the provision of money advice. The pathfinder evaluation has demonstrated that the take-up of such advice was lower than we anticipated, so it may well be that people are more able and willing than expected to take responsibility, although the system has never given them that responsibility. Limiting the roll-out to new claimants and those moving house will help to ensure that the provision of advice is manageable. We recognise the operational issue that exists.
We need to continue to explore more coherent approaches to provide generic financial advice. It is not just a matter of rent or rates when people have serious financial difficulties: they are caused by a cocktail of financial pressures. Having said that, we ask the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare to withdraw the amendment because it would restrict the Secretary of State’s flexibility in such matters. The issue that he raised is important, but we have built it into the system and the amendment would not add anything to the Bill. I am happy to put on the record the fact that we recognise that some vulnerable people are unable to manage their finances in quite the way that we would want them to. We have built in such support and, having highlighted such issues, I believe that the amendment could be withdrawn.