Clause 54
Welfare Reform Bill
9:10 am
Danny Alexander (Shadow Minister and Disability Spokesperson, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
I am grateful to the Under-Secretary for that point of information. It is a lovely day in London, but not in my constituency in the highlands. Sadly, not everybody in this United Kingdom—long may it remain so—is benefiting from the weather that we are enjoying here.
Let me probe the Minister for a few more points of clarification. My understanding is that the purpose of the clause is to allow him more flexibility with regard to the allocation of moneys that can be used for social fund purposes and how they can be distributed at national and regional level. Does the measure also give flexibility as to the nature of grants and loans that may be given from the social fund? If it does not, is that something that he will look at again?
A number of organisations have made representations to me about whether there might be a case for making additional types of grant available through the social fund, over and above those that are currently allowed. I am well aware, as I am sure the Committee is, that the social fund is cash limited; it is used for precise purposes. In particular, the Child Poverty Action Group has proposed ideas such as using the social fund for a child development grant, payable at key stages in a child’s life, and a health and safety grant. In the early years of a child’s life, that might be particularly useful for key items in the home that are considered essential for a child’s health and safety, such as a cot or bedding, or for the repair and replacement of gas and electrical appliances.
That organisation has also proposed the idea of an opportunity grant or allowance to assist claimants in getting back to work, recognising that additional costs might be incurred in that process. That would certainly be relevant to part 1 of the Bill. Currently, as the Committee knows, such payments can be made as discretionary payments through the adviser’s discretionary fund. However, that is not formally advertised or promoted, so it is not necessarily known to claimants unless the adviser makes them aware of it. The additional option of a specific grant within the social fund may be a way of getting around that.
The purpose of my questions is to elicit from the Minister whether the clause will give him the powers to make it clear that additional sorts of grant may be allowable under the social fund, and whether he has considered those ideas.