Clause 43
Welfare Reform Bill
5:45 pm
Adam Afriyie (Windsor, Conservative)
My hon. Friend clearly illustrates what may happen, and I accept his point entirely. With many benefits paid into a single bank account and with many direct debits and other demands on people’s accounts, an immediate reclamation without a decision on an automatic payment made to a claimant could cause great difficulty.
The clause also says that the Department or the paying body will be able to reclaim an overpayment when somebody has misrepresented the information that they provided. Of course, if somebody has deliberately misrepresented the information that they have provided in order to obtain a short or long-term benefit or payment, that is unacceptable and it should be dealt with appropriately through an immediate repayment. However, will the Minister of State assure the Committee that where someone who has dyslexia, which many of my friends struggle with to a certain degree, or a learning difficulty accidentally writes one wrong figure on a form, there will be a safeguard to ensure that they will not be immediately penalised and treated as if they had participated in a gross misrepresentation?
Having voiced those two concerns, which I trust the Minister of State will be able to address, I am happy to sit down.