Clause 12
Welfare Reform Bill
6:15 pm
Mark Harper (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Forest of Dean, Conservative)
Sit down, Minister. He did not want to do all those assurances but now he seems keen to do another one.
I do not want to support the amendment. I just have some questions for the Minister; I am not asking for assurances. The justifications for getting rid of the adult dependency increases for carer’s allowance are not primarily based around saving money, although they do. They are primarily based around recognising the changes to assumptions about family life that were in place when this element was introduced in 1948. Looking at the list of justifications, it is not about saving money. Given that the Government estimate a net annual saving from abolishing adult dependency increases for carer’s allowance, and taking account of compensating increases in means-tested benefits—£3 million in 2010-11, rising to £17 million in 2014-15—it would be interesting to know whether they plan to use any of those savings for those who will, as the hon. Member for Rochdale said, lose out.
The Government have acknowledged that some households will lose out. The Department’s view is that those on lower incomes will receive additional support in their means-tested benefits, but it is not entirely clear whether the Government expect that to be full compensation, and it does not take account of those who are not on means-tested benefits. It would be interesting to know whether the Department believes that there is any way of compensating them in a different way that would be simple and straightforward, or whether it is just one of those things that to make the system simpler some people must lose out.
My second question concerns the effectiveness of the information that is given to carers about the change. The Government argue that the negative impact of abolishing the adult dependency increases for carer’s allowance can at least be mitigated by ensuring that adequate information is available in the run-up to the change, and that there is greater awareness of income support and pension credit to ensure that those on lower incomes take advantage of those. It would help if the Minister would tell the Committee what arrangements are in place, or are planned, to ensure that carers who receive carer’s allowance are given the information and that it is made as easy as possible for those who lose out to receive extra support from income support or pension credit, acknowledging that the complexity of both benefits and the fact that they are means-tested means that a significant number of people who are entitled to them do not claim them.
If the Government put in place a good regime, at least those on lower incomes will be compensated. How many people will lose out and will not be compensated because they are on lower incomes and will receive other means-tested benefits, and what arrangements does the Department have in place, or will it put in place to ensure that people are fully informed about the change?