House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2008 - 09
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Other Bills before Parliament

61

House of Commons

Notices of Amendments

given on

Thursday 19 February 2009

For other Amendment(s) see the following page(s):

Welfare Reform Bill Committee 43-55 and 57-59

Public Bill Committee

Welfare Reform Bill

Devolution to local authorities and groups of local authorities

Paul Rowen

NC4

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Secretary of State may by Regulations—

(a)
allow local authorites or groups of local authorities to exercise his

functions under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973

where they seek the full responsiblity to assume these functions.

(b)
provide local authorities or groups of local authorities with the funding

and authority to vary these programmes to meet local need.

(2)
The Secretary of State shall consult with and have regard to the view of local

authorities or groups of local authorities on the exercise of his functions under

section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973 including the contracting out

of employment support and the information relating to all aspects of the

perfomance of employment programmes in the area.’.

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

77

Schedule  3,  page  81,  line  39,  after ‘requirement’, insert ‘which must include the

person’s health at the time of the failure to comply.’.

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

78

Clause  8,  page  14,  line  11,  at end insert ‘including regard to that person’s mental

Notices of Amendments: 19 February 2009
62

Welfare Reform Bill, continued

health and any specific mental health needs that person may have.’.

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

79

Clause  31,  page  38,  line  21,  at end insert ‘including, in particular, making

arrangements with voluntary organisations to provide disabled persons with assistance in

connection with direct payments.’.

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

80

Clause  31,  page  38,  line  23,  leave out from ‘with’ to end of line 33 and insert

‘requiring a relevant authority that is or may be obliged, or has decided, to provide a

relevant service to, or to arrange the provision of a relevant service for, a disabled person

(P) in prescribed circumstances to do the following—

(a)
to support P to assess his own needs;

(b)
to support P to draw up a plan (his “support plan”) setting out how he

wishes those needs to be met;

(c)
to support P to review and revise his support plan;

(d)
to assess the value of any relevant services to which P is entitled;

(e)
to notify P of the value of these services (his “individual budget”) and of

his right to choose how his individual budget is managed;

(f)
to comply with P’s decision about whether he wishes to receive his

individual budget in the form of—

(i)
a payment to him (a direct payment);

(ii)
a payment to any prescribed person for that person to manage on

his behalf and in accordance with his support plan;

(iii)
in the form of the provision of services by the relevant authorities

which accord with his support plan; or

(iv)
any combination of (i), (ii) and (iii).’.

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

81

Clause  31,  page  38,  line  39,  leave out paragraph (c).

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

82

Clause  32,  page  39,  line  21,  leave out subsection (2).

Notices of Amendments: 19 February 2009
63

Welfare Reform Bill, continued

Entitlement to tailored employment and career support

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

NC5

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
All new ESA claimants and existing Incapacity Benefit claimants who are

migrated to ESA, who have a diagnosed mental health problem which impacts on

their ability to undertake work, will be entitled to an assessment carried out by,

or linked to, Access to Work to determine what reasonable adjustments may

improve the likelihood of retention should they find employment. This

assessment must be carried out before the claimant may be compelled to

undertake any compulsory work-related activity.

(2)
The assessment will include evidence gathering from agencies responsible for a

person’s employment support and for the provision of health services where

appropriate and must include at least one interview with the claimant themselves.

(3)
Any reasonable adjustments, recommended by the assessment, will be funded

through Access to Work and will be available to any employer wishing to employ

the claimant. Available funding for reasonable adjustments will be

communicated to employers by a claimant’s employment adviser and will be

transferable to a new employer in the event that the claimant moves jobs or

employers.

(4)
The assessment will be reviewed regularly and/or when the claimant moves jobs

or employers to identify any changes to the adjustments required by the

claimant.’.

Mr James Clappison

Mr Mark Harper

Mr John Baron

83

Clause  43,  page  49,  line  8,  leave out subsection (b).

Paul Rowen

84

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  31,  leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘shall’.

Paul Rowen

85

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  32,  after first ‘the’, insert ‘reasonable’.

Paul Rowen

86

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  34,  leave out paragraph (a).

Paul Rowen

87

Clause  24,  page  34,  line  28,  after ‘cause’, insert ‘(which shall include situations

where the failure was caused by a long-term or fluctuating mental health problem)’.

John Mason

88

Clause  2,  page  5,  line  20,  after ‘failure’, insert ‘, including demonstrating that the

Notices of Amendments: 19 February 2009
64

Welfare Reform Bill, continued

failure was caused by a long-term or fluctuating mental health problem,’.

John Mason

89

Clause  2,  page  5,  line  26,  at end insert ‘which must include that person’s health at

the time of their failure to comply.’.

John Mason

90

Clause  8,  page  14,  line  11,  at end insert ‘including regard to that person’s mental

health and any specific mental health needs that person may have.’.

John Mason

91

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  29,  after ‘which’, insert ‘the person is willing to undertake

and’.

John Mason

92

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  30,  at end insert—

‘( )
an action plan shall include details of any sanction that can be applied

under the Act if the person, without good cause, fails to comply with any

of the activities in the action plan.’.

John Mason

93

Clause  11,  page  54,  line  45,  at end insert—

‘An action plan shall include details of any sanction that can be applied under the Act if

the person, without good cause, fails to comply with any of the activities in the action

plan.’.

Tony McNulty

94

Clause  19,  page  23,  line  45,  leave out ‘in England and Wales or Northern Ireland,’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment ensures that the loss of benefit provisions in new section 6B of the Social Security

Fraud Act 2001 apply where a person in Scotland is cautioned for a benefit offence. As currently

drafted, they apply to cautions in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland.

Tony McNulty

95

Clause  19,  page  26,  line  46,  after ‘sentenced)’ insert ‘or in the case mentioned in

paragraph (b)(ii) the date of the order for absolute discharge’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential upon amendment 96.

Tony McNulty

96

Clause  19,  page  26,  line  47,  leave out from second ‘to’ to end of line 49 and

insert—

Notices of Amendments: 19 February 2009
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Welfare Reform Bill, continued

‘(i)
a conviction in relation to which the court makes an order for

absolute or conditional discharge or a court in Scotland makes a

probation order,

(ii)
an order for absolute discharge made by a court of summary

jurisdiction in Scotland under section 246(3) of the Criminal

Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 without proceeding to a

conviction, and

(iii)
’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment ensures that new section 6B of the 2001 Act applies where a person is convicted

of a benefit offence, but the court makes an order for absolute discharge. See also amendment 97.

Tony McNulty

97

Schedule  4,  page  84,  line  15,  at end insert—

    ‘( )
In subsection (9)—

(a)
in paragraph (a), after “sentenced)” insert “or in the case mentioned in

paragraph (b)(ii) the date of the order for absolute discharge”, and

(b)
for paragraph (b) substitute—

“(b)
references to a conviction include references to—

(i)
a conviction in relation to which the court

makes an order for absolute or conditional

discharge or a court in Scotland makes a

probation order,

(ii)
an order for absolute discharge made by a

court of summary jurisdiction in Scotland

under section 246(3) of the Criminal

Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 without

proceeding to a conviction, and

(iii)
a conviction in Northern Ireland.”.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amends section 7 of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 so as to ensure that its provisions ap

ply where a person is convicted of a benefit offence, but the court makes an order for absolute dis

charge. See also amendments 95 and 96.

Tony McNulty

98

Schedule  4,  page  86,  line  35,  leave out ‘6B(7)’ and insert ‘6B(6)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment ensures that the affirmative Parliamentary procedure applies to the regulation-

making power in new section 6B(6) of the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 (inserted by clause 19).

The existing reference to new section 6B(7) is incorrect.

Mininum income level for persons subject to sanctions

John Mason

NC6

To move the following Clause:—

‘Regulations made by the Secretary of State shall set minimum income figures

per week which no individual or family in receipt of benefits, and subject to any

sanction under this Act, is permitted to fall below following the imposition of any

sanctions.’.

Notices of Amendments: 19 February 2009
66

Welfare Reform Bill, continued

Implementation of sanctions in relation to income

John Mason

NC7

To move the following Clause:—

‘External providers and jobcentres shall not apply sanctions under this Act when

the job offered to a claimant provides a lower income than that provided by

unemployment benefits.’.

Means inquiry before sanctions imposed

John Mason

NC8

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
In any case where regulations made by the Secretary of State under this Act or

other powers contain provisions for the imposition of sanctions resulting in the

loss or reduction of any sum in benefit, the regulations shall contain a duty that

before any sanction is imposed—

(a)
a means inquiry is conducted as to the means of the person on the day;

(b)
regard shall be had to the welfare of any person residing with him;

(c)
regard shall be had to a medical report as to his/her physical and mental

well-being and any person residing with him/her;

(d)
any sanction resulting in loss or reduction of benefit will be reasonable in

the circumstances;

(e)
regard shall be had to the impact of any deduction on the ability of the

person to pay costs in respect of the accommodation which he/she may

occupy.

(2)
Following consideration of the matters prescribed in paragraph (1) the decision

maker shall then determine whether the income remaining to the person who will

be subject to the sanction falls below the minimum figure for income in one week

which is set by the Secretary of State.

(3)
If any sanction is imposed following the inquiries in (1) above of any sanction,

the decision-maker shall ensure that no person will be left either with a total

income which is either below the minimum figure for income set by the Secretary

of State or in any other case is no more than two thirds of the amount in benefit

payable to the person in any one week during which it is proposed that the

sanction shall operate, unless the relevant amount of benefit payable in any one

week is £5.00 or below.

(4)
Where the means inquiry establishes that a person is already subject to deductions

from benefit which but for the effect of this subsection would result in the amount

of benefit available to the person in any one week falling below the amount set

by the Secretary of State, the imposition of any deduction shall be suspended.

(5)
Any regulations made by the Secretary of State permitting or allowing any

sanction resulting in loss or reduction of benefit to any person shall be subject to

a right of appeal.

(6)
Any person affected by a sanction imposed may appeal to the Secretary of State

for a variation of the amount, provided that no variation however occasioned shall

as a result leave the person with less than the sum prescribed in regulations under

paragraph 2.’.

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Welfare Reform Bill, continued

Paul Rowen

99

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  31,  leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘shall’.

Paul Rowen

100

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  32,  after ‘the’, insert ‘reasonable’.

Paul Rowen

101

Clause  2,  page  6,  line  34,  leave out paragraph (a).

Paul Rowen

102

Clause  24,  page  34,  line  28,  at end insert ‘good cause shall include situations where

the failure was caused by a long-term or fluctuating mental health problem’.