Part of Tax Credits Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:45 pm on 15 January 2002.
Were we to leave out clause 4(1)(e) we would leave out a provision that allows a claim to be made or proceeded with in the name of a person who has died. We want to include that measure. It is important in our view to allow up to three months for a claim to be made. Couples will be required to make joint claims. If a couple did not claim the tax credits to which they were entitled immediately, they would normally be able to make a claim within the following three months and have the award backdated to the point at which they started to qualify.
Clause 3(2) requires that such a claim be made jointly but, clearly, it could not be if in the interim one party of the couple died. If a claim were made while both partners were living, that should not disqualify the other partner from the benefit that would otherwise have accrued. Without the Bill's provision, the surviving partner would find themselves denied tax credits for which they would otherwise be eligible. That would not be just, particularly at the difficult time when there are real needs in a family because of the end of a partnership through the death of a partner. The amendment would deny a partner the opportunity of gaining the benefit that should accrue to them by virtue of their partnership. That is probably not the intention of Opposition Members, so I hope that they will withdraw the amendment.