APPENDIX 2
Letter to the Committee from the Disability
Benefits Consortium (ICC 05)
DEAR SIR/MADAM,
The Disability Benefits Consortium is pleased
to be invited to make a submission to the Integrated Child Credit
inquiry. However, having only seen a March 2000 Treasury document,
and had one follow-up meeting with officials, we are not sure
what the Government's current proposals look like. Therefore,
rather than make a lengthy submission we felt it would be better
if we listed our key points and concerns about the child credit.
These are:
1. We are assuming that the child allowances
within the Disabled Persons Tax Credit will come within the proposed
ICC. The Treasury has assured us that this was the case but the
terms of reference for your inquiry would seem to suggest otherwise.
As some 42 percent of DPTC claimants have children, this is an
important issue.
2. Is it proposed that the child dependency
additions within Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Severe Disablement
Allowance (SDA) are included in the ICC? There are some 582,000
children of working age recipients of IB, SDA or income support
with a disability premium (HC Hansard col 429W 24.7.00).
3. If the non-means tested benefits IB and
SDA are included, then how does the means-testing of the ICC fit
in?
4. Is it proposed that the additional amounts
currently payable to assist with the extra costs of bringing up
a disabled child will be included within the ICC? These allowances
are the disabled child credits within DPTC and WFTC and the disabled
child premium within income support.
5. Where disability living allowance is
payable for a child, will this continue to be paid separately?
We would ask that the Committee includes the
above in the issues to be addressed by the inquiry.
Yours sincerely,
Lorna Reith
Chief Executive
Disability Alliance
September 2000
| 
