S.C.D.
Amendment Paper as at
Thursday 11th February 1999
STANDING COMMITTEE D
TAX CREDITS BILL
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
34
Clause 5, page 3, line 28, at end insert 'and for requiring employers to take reasonable precautions so that the fact that an employee is in receipt of tax credit is not disclosed to any other employee except those directly responsible for the administration of the payroll.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
38
Clause 5, page 3, line 36, after 'calculated', insert ', but to exclude any interest charge where an overpayment arose as a result of incorrect instructions from the Inland Revenue.'.
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
15
Clause 5, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
'(2A) Regulations under this section shall allow a person who is a lone parent to opt for payment of any tax credit to which he is entitled to be made directly to him by the Board.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
32
Clause 5, page 3, line 38, after 'appeal', insert—
'(h) for funding the administration costs incurred in paying the credit by employers whose annual National Insurance contribution payments do not exceed £20,000.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
35
Clause 5, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
'(2A) No regulations shall be made under a power created or transferred by this Act which shall allow the Board to seek information or documents, for the purposes of administering a tax credit, from the employer about the employee other than information or documents relating to the number of hours worked and the employee's entitlement to remuneration.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
36
Clause 5, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
'(2B) The Board shall not provide employers with details relating to the circumstances of the employee other than those strictly necessary for the employer to pay the employee with the correct amount of tax credit.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
37
Clause 5, page 3, line 38, at end insert—
'(2C) An employer who is responsible for the tax credit received by an employee shall take reasonable precautions so that the fact an employee is in receipt of tax credit is not disclosed to any other employee except those directly responsible for the administration of the payroll.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
48
Clause 5, page 3, line 39, leave out lines 39 to 44 and insert—
'(3)(a) Regulations under this section shall be made by statutory instrument and shall be subject to a super-affirmative procedure in the House of Commons whereby they shall be referred to a Committee of the House ("the Commons Committee"), constituted for the purpose of considering the regulations, which may amend the regulations as it sees fit.
(b) The Commons Committee shall, following its consideration of regulations in accordance with sub-section (3)(a) above, report the regulations, with or without amendment, to the House of Commons.
(c) The regulations shall not come into effect until they have been approved, in identical form, by resolution of both Houses of Parliament.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
40
Clause 5, page 3, leave out lines 40 and 41.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
41
Clause 5, page 3, line 42, leave out from 'to' to end of line 44 and add 'approval by a resolution of both Houses of Parliament.'.
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
17
Clause 5, page 3, line 44, at end insert—
'(3A) In carrying out its duties under this Act the Board shall not supply to an employer any information concerning an employee other than the amount of the tax credit.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
39
Clause 5, page 3, line 44, at end insert—
'(3A) The Board shall, in consultation with employers who are likely to be paying a tax credit to employees when this section comes into force, publish a Code of Conduct for such employers by 6th April 2000.'.
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
16
Clause 5, page 3, leave out line 45 and add—
'(4) This section shall not come into force until the Chancellor of the Exchequer has laid before both Houses of Parliament a statement that he is satisfied that employers are likely to be in a position to comply with their obligations under this Act.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
47
Clause 5, page 3, line 45, at end insert 'except in the case of employers who employ fewer than 21 people when it shall come into force on 6th April 2002.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
46
Clause 8, page 4, line 29, after 'liable', insert 'both to repay such amount as is fraudulently or negligently so claimed and'.
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
18
Clause 8, page 5, line 41, at end add—
'(8A) The Treasury shall provide appeal tribunals within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1998 and general and special commissioners with sufficient funds to enable them to determine expeditiously appeals against determinations made under this section.'.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
45
Clause 10, page 6, line 36, leave out from 'to' to end of line 37 and add 'approval by resolution of both Houses of Parliament.'.
Mrs Jacqui Lait
14
Page 8, line 4, leave out Clause 15.
Mr Eric Pickles
Mr Nick Gibb
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Tim Collins
Miss Julie Kirkbride
Mrs Jacqui Lait
21
Clause 16, page 8, line 31, at end insert, 'including in both cases a childcare tax credit component.'.
NEW CLAUSES
Special provision for certain contracts
Dawn Primarolo
NC12
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) This section applies to—
(a) any contract for the supply of goods or services to the Secretary of State or the Department which relates partly to functions transferred to the Board by section 2(1) ("transferred functions") and partly to functions retained by the Secretary of State or the Department ("retained functions"); and
(b) any contract for the supply of goods or services to the Secretary of State or the Department which relates only to transferred functions or only to retained functions, but whose terms are wholly or partly determined in accordance with a contract falling within paragraph (a).
(2) Section 3 shall not apply in relation to any contract to which this section applies.
(3) In any contract to which this section applies any term restricting the provision of goods or services under the contract to the Secretary of State or the Department shall be treated as referring also to the Board, in connection with transferred functions.
(4) The reference to the Secretary of State in subsection (3) includes a reference to the Department of Social Security.'.
Housing costs
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'In section 135 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, there shall be inserted—
"(1A) The applicable amount prescribed for a working families tax credit and a disabled person's tax credit shall include an amount for prescribed housing costs".'.
Takeup
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'The Board shall have a duty to inform persons whom it has reasonable grounds for believing may be entitled to a tax credit to submit a claim for it.'.
Transitions from Income Support
Steve Webb
Dr Vincent Cable
NC6
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) Where a person who has been in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or housing benefit commences full-time work and has submitted a claim for a tax credit, he shall in prescribed circumstances continue to be entitled to the benefit in question for four weeks after he commences such work.
(2) Regulations shall prescribe the meaning of "full-time work" for the purposes of this section.'.
