Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill

Page 1, line 4, leave out “by 1%”

Page 1, line 5, at end insert—

“(1A) In the case of employment and support allowance receivable by claimants of the support component of the allowance (who receive both personal allowance and support components) the mandatory 1% uprating stipulated in subsection (1) shall not apply to any components of the employment and support allowance (including personal allowance and support components) receivable by them.”

Page 1, line 5, at end insert—

“( ) The mandatory 1% uprating stipulated in subsection (1) shall not apply to employment and support allowance payable to claimants placed in the work-related activity group.”

Page 1, line 5, at end insert—

“(1A) The Secretary of State must, in each of the tax years ending with 5 April 2014 and 5 April 2015, make an order by statutory instrument increasing each of the relevant sums by no less than the general level of prices over the period under review and for the meaning of the “relevant sums” see paragraph 3 of the Schedule.”

Page 1, line 5, at end insert—

“(1B) The Secretary of State must, in each of the tax years ending with 5 April 2014 and 5 April 2015, make an order by statutory instrument increasing each of the relevant sums by no less than the general level of prices over the period under review and for the meaning of the “relevant sums” see paragraph 4 of the Schedule.”

Page 2, line 2, at end insert—

“( ) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a tax year if, on the review in that tax year under section 150(1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the Secretary of State determines that the general level of prices, measured by the Consumer Price Index, for Great Britain has increased by 3% or more over the period under review.”

Page 2, line 3, leave out subsection (6)

Insert the following new Clause—

“Review of housing welfare benefits

(1) The Secretary of State must undertake a review of the current relationship between the amounts of housing welfare benefits in each local authority area and market rents in the same area during the relevant period.

(2) The relevant period in subsection (1) shall be each period of twelve months starting on 1 April 2013 and ending on 31 March 2016.

(3) A review under subsection (1) shall include an analysis of the effect of the levels of housing welfare benefits on the amount of private sector housing which is currently affordable by those in receipt of or entitled to such benefits.

(4) The Secretary of State shall cause to be published at twelve monthly intervals starting on 31 March 2014 a report of the evidence and conclusions of each review undertaken under subsection (1).

(5) The Secretary of State shall publish a response to each report under subsection (4) within three months of its due date, and shall take steps to amend the method used to uprate housing welfare benefits if there is shown to be a significant divergence between rent levels in the private rented sector and housing welfare benefits.

(6) In this section “housing welfare benefits” means housing benefit in the form of the local housing allowance or (as the case may be) the housing component of universal credit and “significant divergence” within the meaning of subsection (5) is to be defined in regulations.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Motability Operations leaseholders

(1) A person who is—

(a) a recipient of a sum or sums specified in subsection (4), and

(b) a leaseholder of a car, powered wheelchair or scooter from Motability Operations

may petition the Secretary of State if, during tax years 2014-15 and 2015-16, the sum or sums specified in subsection (4) are insufficient to allow them to meet their obligations under the lease specified in this subsection.

(2) On receipt of a petition under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must increase the amount of the sum or sums specified in subsection (4) received by the petitioner to a level sufficient to make the payments required under the terms of the lease specified in subsection (1), or arrange for equivalent additional payments to be made to the petitioner to allow them to meet their obligations under that lease.

(3) The Secretary of State must, in each of the tax years ending with 5 April 2014 and 5 April 2015, consult Motability before making an order by statutory instrument increasing each of the sums specified in subsection (4).

(4) This section shall apply to sums—

(a) specified in regulations under section 79(3) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

(b) specified in paragraph 11 of Part IV of Schedule 1 to the Naval, Military and Air Forces etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/606).”

Page 2, line 19, leave out “by 1%”

Page 2, line 29, at end insert—

“( ) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a tax year if, on the review in that tax year under section 41 of the Tax Credits Act 2002, the Treasury determine that the general level of prices, measured by the Consumer Price Index, in the United Kingdom has increased by 3% or more over the period under review.”

Page 2, line 30, leave out subsection (5)

Insert the following new Clause—

“Duty on the Secretary of State

Before enactment, the Secretary of State shall lay before both Houses of Parliament a report which states—

(a) his assessment of the adequacy of the social security benefits listed in Schedule 1;

(b) the principles upon which the future up-rating of all benefits and tax credits covered by this Act will be based.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Assessment of impact on child poverty

The Secretary of State shall, in making the orders referred to in sections 1(1) and 2(1), publish and lay before Parliament a report assessing the impact of the order on the number of children living in—

(a) relative low income;

(b) combined low income and material deprivation;

(c) absolute low income;

(d) persistent poverty;

as defined in the Child Poverty Act 2010.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Review the levels of market rents

(1) The Secretary of State shall keep under review the levels of market rents in each area for each category of dwelling as compared with the maximum rent (LHA) for each such category of dwelling in that area.

(2) The Secretary of State shall also keep under review whether or not in any area the maximum rent for any category of dwelling in that area is significantly below the level of market rents for such category as referred to in subsection (1) so as to result in a significant under-supply of dwellings to rent for claimants who might reasonably be expected to occupy that category of dwelling in that area.

(3) Where the situation referred to in subsection (2) arises the Secretary of State shall by regulations make provision for an increase in the maximum rent to alleviate the situation referred to in subsection (2) to such extent as he sees appropriate in the circumstances.

(4) The following expressions used in this section shall have the following meanings—

(a) “area” means a broad market rental area for the purposes of the Rent Officers Order.

(b) “categories of dwelling” has the same meaning as in Regulation 13D of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006 No. 213).

(c) “Rent Officers Order” means the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997 as amended from time to time.”

Page 4, line 7, leave out sub-paragraph (b)

Page 4, line 9, leave out “150(1)(i) and (j)” and insert “150(1)(j)”

Page 4, line 10, at end insert “with the exception of statutory maternity pay”

Page 4, leave out lines 24 to 33

Page 4, line 26, leave out sub-paragraph (k)

Page 4, line 37, leave out sub-paragraph (a)

Page 4, line 41, leave out paragraph (b)

Page 4, line 42, at end insert—

“3 The relevant amounts for the purposes of section 1, subsection (1A), are the sums—

(a) specified in regulations under section 8(3) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

(b) specified in regulations under section 9(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

(c) specified in regulations under section 10(3) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

(d) specified in regulations under section 12(3) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012.”

Page 4, line 42, at end insert—

“4 The relevant amounts for the purposes of section 1, subsection (1B), are the sums—

(a) specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006;

(b) specified in regulations in Schedule 2 to the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002 for the basic element, the 30 hour element, the second adult element and the lone parent element.”

Baroness Lister of Burtersett gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that the Schedule be the Schedule to the Bill.