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Lord Hardie moved Amendments Nos. 71 to 73:
On Question, amendments agreed to.
Schedule 7 [Minor and consequential amendments]:
Lord Hardie moved Amendment No. 74:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Hardie moved Amendment No. 74A:
Page 66, line 2, leave out from ("to") to ("Act") in line 3 and insert ("applications under section 26(1) or 30 of the Administration Act made after the passing of this Act and any time before the commencement of section 27 above, section 69 of that").
Page 66, line 19, leave out ("an appropriate officer") and insert ("a social fund officer").
Page 66, line 47, leave out ("an appropriate officer") and insert ("a social fund officer").
Page 69, line 20, leave out from ("to") to end of line 22 and insert ("such a decision, or on which such a decision is based, shall be conclusive for the purposes of--
(a) further such decisions;
(b) decisions made in accordance with sections 8 to 16 of the Social Security Act 1998, or with regulations under section 11 of that Act; and
(c) decisions made under the Child Support Act 1991."").
Page 69, line 30, at end insert--
.--(1) In subsection (2)(b) of section 4 of the Forfeiture Act 1982 (Commissioner to decide whether rule applies to social security benefits), for the words "section 59 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992" there shall be substituted the words "section 16 of the Social Security Act 1998".
(2) In subsection (5) of that section, in the definition of "Commissioner", for the words "Social Security Administration Act 1992" there shall be substituted the words "Chapter II of Part I of the Social Security Act 1998".").
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, in moving this amendment I seek the leave of the House to speak to Amendments Nos. 102A, 102B, 102C, 103 and 108. These are only minor and consequential amendments to other legislation as a direct result of the provisions in this Bill.
Amendment No. 74A amends the Forfeiture Act 1982 to replace references to the Social Security Administration Act with new references to analogous provisions in the present Act once it is passed.
Amendments Nos. 102A, 102B, 102C and 108 aim to ensure that the Bill's provisions for revising and superseding decisions of the Secretary of State also apply fully to certain decisions taken on jobseekers' allowance.
The amendments specifically replace references to "review" in Sections 6 and 7 of the Jobseekers Act 1995 with reference to the new provisions in Clauses 9 and 10 of the Bill; that is, to the new provisions for revising and superseding decisions made by the Secretary of State. The amendments also remove the superfluous words "the first determination" in those sections of the Jobseekers Act.
Amendment No. 103 is a minor and consequential amendment to the Employment Rights Act 1996. It changes a reference in Section 215 of the Act from
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Hardie moved Amendment No. 75:
"the Social Security Administration Act 1992"
to
"Chapter II of Part I of the Social Security Act 1998".
I commend these amendments to your Lordships. I beg to move.
Page 70, line 7, at end insert--
. In subsection (3) of section 172 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (exceptions from tax)--
(a) for the words "Class 1 contributions" there shall be substituted the words "secondary Class 1 contributions"; and
(b) for the words "lower earnings limit" there shall be substituted the words "earnings threshold".").
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Hardie moved Amendment No. 75A:
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, in moving this amendment, I shall speak to Amendments Nos. 78A and 78B. These all make minor alterations to provisions regarding appeals to child support commissioners.
Amendment No. 75A amends the Child Support Act 1991 and relates to leave to appeal to the child support commissioners. Under the provisions introduced in this Bill, it will be possible to have single or two person-appeal tribunals. This means that references to the "chairman" of the tribunal will not always be appropriate. The new wording reflects this change, and brings the wording for child support into line with that for other aspects of social security.
Amendments Nos. 78A and 78B relate to the handling of applications for leave to appeal to child support commissioners, and reflect amendments introduced at Committee stage for the social security commissioners.
These amendments allow the chief child support commissioner to direct such applications to a tribunal of commissioners, where the application involves a question of law of special difficulty. At present, all applications for leave to appeal are considered by a commissioner sitting alone, although the appeals themselves may be heard by a tribunal of commissioners.
The approach proposed here is unlikely to be used frequently, but it does offer benefits for the development of child support case law. It is likely to be particularly
Finally, Amendment No. 78B also introduces a provision which gives a casting vote to the child support commissioner presiding over a tribunal of commissioners, where the tribunal would otherwise be equally divided as to the outcome of the appeal.
These amendments extend provisions already in place for social security commissioners to child support. I therefore commend these amendments to your Lordships' House. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
The Deputy Speaker (Lord Ampthill): My Lords, as far as I am aware, Amendments Nos. 76 to 108 have already been debated.
Lord Hardie moved Amendments Nos. 76 to 103:
Page 71, leave out lines 35 to 38 and insert--
("(a) for the words "who was the chairman of the child support appeal tribunal" there shall be substituted the words "who constituted, or was the chairman of, the appeal tribunal";
(b) for the words "such other chairman of a child support appeal tribunal" there shall be substituted the words "such other person".").
Page 72, line 32, at end insert--
(" . After subsection (2) of section 43 of that Act (contribution to maintenance by deduction from benefit) there shall be inserted the following subsection--
"(3) Schedule 4C shall have effect for applying sections 16, 17, 20 and 28ZA to 28ZC to any decision with respect to a person's liability under this section, that is to say, his liability to make payments under regulations made by virtue of this section."").
Page 73, line 9, leave out from ("to") to end of line 11 and insert ("such a decision, or on which such a decision is based, shall be conclusive for the purposes of--
(a) further such decisions;
(b) decisions made in accordance with sections 8 to 16 of the Social Security Act 1998, or with regulations under section 11 of that Act; and
(c) decisions made under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.").
Page 73, leave out line 33 and insert--
("(b) in paragraph (b), for the words "section 18 or 19" there shall be substituted the words "Schedule 4C".").
Page 74, line 25, leave out from ("In") to ("after") in line 26 and insert ("sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to that Act (Child Support Commissioners)--
(a) for the words "that an appeal" there shall be substituted the words "that--
(a) an application for leave under section 24(6)(b); or
(b) an appeal,";
(b) for the words "that the appeal" there shall be substituted the words "that the application or appeal"; and
(c)")
Page 74, line 27, at end insert--
("( ) At the end of sub-paragraph (2) of that paragraph there shall be inserted the words "; and the presiding Child Support Commissioner shall have a casting vote if the votes are equally divided".
( ) After that sub-paragraph there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph--
"(3) Where a direction is given under sub-paragraph (1)(a), section 24(6)(b) shall have effect as if the reference to a Child Support Commissioner were a reference to such a tribunal as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)."").
Page 75, line 14, leave out ("or a reduced benefit direction") and insert ("a reduced benefit direction or a person's liability under section 43").
Page 75, line 24, leave out ("or a reduced benefit direction") and insert ("a reduced benefit direction or a person's liability under section 43").
Page 75, line 37, at beginning insert ("Subject to sub-paragraphs (1A) and (1B),").
Page 75, line 41, at end insert ("or
(ii) with respect to a person's liability under section 43,").
Page 75, line 44, at end insert--
("(1A) On an appeal under section 20 as extended by sub-paragraph (1)(a), the appeal tribunal shall--
(a) consider the matter--
(i) as if it were exercising the powers of the Secretary of State in relation to the application in question; and
(ii) as if it were subject to the duties imposed on him in relation to that application;
(b) have regard to any representations made to it by the Secretary of State; and
(c) confirm the decision or replace it with such decision as the tribunal considers appropriate.
(1B) No appeal shall lie under section 20 as extended by sub-paragraph (1)(b)(i) unless the amount of the person's benefit is reduced in accordance with the reduced benefit direction; and the time within which such an appeal may be brought shall run from the date of the notification of the reduction.").
Page 76, line 4, leave out ("or a reduced benefit direction") and insert ("a reduced benefit direction or a person's liability under section 43").
Page 76, line 43, after ("made") insert ("by the Secretary of State").
Page 76, line 44, leave out ("by the Secretary of State").
Page 76, line 49, leave out ("or a reduced benefit direction") and insert (", a reduced benefit direction or a person's liability under section 43").
Page 77, line 2, leave out ("or a reduced benefit direction") and insert (", a reduced benefit direction or a person's liability under section 43").
Page 77, line 38, leave out from beginning to ("there") and insert (".--(1) In subsection (5) of section 10 of that Act (Class 1A contributions), for the words from "for secondary" to "earnings bracket" there shall be substituted the words "specified as the secondary percentage in section 9(2) above".
(2) After subsection (8) of that section").
Page 77, line 42, at end insert--
(". After subsection (3) of section 14 of that Act (restriction on right to pay Class 3 contributions) there shall be inserted the following subsection--
"(4) Where primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid on any part of a person's earnings, subsection (1)(a) above shall have effect as if such contributions had been paid or treated as paid on so much of those earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit."").
Page 77, line 42, at end insert--
(" . After subsection (5) of section 21 of that Act (contribution conditions) there shall be inserted the following subsection--
"(5A) Where primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid on any part of a person's earnings, the following provisions, namely--
(a) subsection (5)(c) above;
(b) sections 22(1)(a) and (3)(a), 23(3)(a), 24(2)(a), 44(6)(a) and 45A(1)(a) below; and
(c) paragraphs 2(4)(a) and (5)(a), 4(2)(a), 5(2)(b) and (4)(a) and 7(4)(a) of Schedule 3 to this Act,
shall have effect as if such contributions had been paid or treated as paid on so much of the earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit."
. In subsection (4) of section 22 of that Act (earnings factors), for the words "upon which" there shall be substituted the words "in respect of".").
Page 78, line 38, leave out ("and") and insert--
("( ) the definitions of "initial primary percentage" and "main primary percentage" shall cease to have effect;
( ) for the definitions of "lower earnings limit" and "upper earnings limit" there shall be substituted the following definitions--
""lower earnings limit", "upper earnings limit" and "earnings threshold" are to be construed in accordance with subsection (1) of section 5 above, and references to the lower or upper earnings limit, or to the earnings threshold, of a tax year are to whatever is (or was) for that year the limit or threshold in force under that subsection;";").
Page 78, line 43, at end insert ("and
( ) in the definition of "primary percentage", for the words "section 8(1) and (2)" there shall be substituted the words "section 8(2).").
Page 79, line 27, at end insert--
(". In subsection (1) of section 163 of that Act (interpretation of Part XI), in the definition of "employer", after the words "but for" there shall be inserted the words "the condition in".
. In subsection (1) of section 171 of that Act (interpretation of Part XII), in the definition of "employer", after the words "but for" there shall be inserted the words "the condition in".").
Page 79, line 33, at end insert--
("( ) For sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 1 of that Schedule there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph--
"(2) Where earnings in respect of employments which include any contracted-out employment and any employment which is not a contracted-out employment are aggregated under sub-paragraph (1) above, then, except as may be provided by regulations--
(a) if the aggregated earnings exceed the current lower earnings limit, the amount of the primary Class 1 contribution in respect of the aggregated earnings shall be determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (3) below; and
(b) if the aggregated earnings exceed the current earnings threshold, the amount of the secondary Class 1 contribution in respect of the aggregated earnings shall be determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (6) below."
( ) In sub-paragraph (3) of that paragraph, immediately before the words "does not exceed", in each place where they occur, there shall be inserted the words "exceeds the current lower earnings limit and".
( ) In sub-paragraph (6) of that paragraph--
(a) in paragraph (a), for the words "the APPS earnings" there shall be substituted the words "such part of the APPS earnings as exceeds the earnings threshold";
(b) in paragraphs (b) and (c), for the words "the part of the aggregated earnings attributable to such service" there shall be substituted the words "such part of the aggregated earnings attributable to such service as exceeds the earnings threshold"; and
(c) in paragraph (d), for the words "the remainder of the aggregated earnings" there shall be substituted the words "such part of the remainder of the aggregated earnings as exceeds the earnings threshold".
( ) In sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 3 of that Schedule, for the words "his own secondary contribution" there shall be substituted the words "any secondary contribution of his own".").
Page 83, line 10, at end insert--
(" .--(1) In subsection (1) of section 143 of that Act (power to alter contributions with a view to adjusting level of National
Insurance Fund), for paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs--
"(a) the percentage rate specified as the primary percentage in section 8(2);
(b) the percentage rate specified as the secondary percentage in section 9(2);".
(2) In subsection (4) of that section, for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following paragraph--
"(a) to increase for any tax year the primary percentage, or the secondary percentage, to a percentage rate more than 0.25 per cent higher than that applicable at the end of the preceding tax year;".").
Page 83, line 13, at end insert--
(". For subsections (1) to (3) of section 145 of that Act (power to alter primary and secondary contributions) there shall be substituted the following subsections--
"(1) For the purpose of adjusting amounts payable by way of primary Class 1 contributions, the Secretary of State may at any time make an order altering the percentage rate specified as the primary percentage in section 8(2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.
(2) For the purpose of adjusting amounts payable by way of secondary Class 1 contributions, the Secretary of State may at any time make an order altering the percentage rate specified as the secondary percentage in section 9(2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act.
(3) No order shall be made under this section so as to increase for any tax year the primary percentage, or the secondary percentage, to a percentage rate more than 0.25 per cent higher than that applicable at the end of the preceding tax year."
. Section 146 of that Act (power to alter number of secondary earnings brackets) shall cease to have effect.
. In subsection (1), (2) and (3) of section 147 of that Act (orders under sections 145 and 146: supplementary), the words "or 146" shall cease to have effect.").
Page 83, line 38, at end insert--
("( ) In subsection (5)(b) of that section, for the words "those contributions" there shall be substituted the words "primary Class 1 contributions".").
Page 85, line 20, at end insert ("and
(b) "146," shall cease to have effect.").
Page 88, line 1, at end insert--
(" . For subsections (1) and (1A) of section 41 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (reduced rates of Class 1 contributions) there shall be substituted the following subsections--
"(1) Subsections (1A) to (1C) apply where--
(a) the earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner in any tax week are in respect of an employment which is contracted-out employment at the time of the payment, and
(b) the earner's service in the employment is service which qualifies him for a pension provided by a salary related contracted-out scheme;
and in subsections (1A) and (1B) "the relevant part", in relation to those earnings, means so much of those earnings as exceeds the current lower earnings limit but not the current upper earnings limit for that week (or the prescribed equivalents if the earner is paid otherwise than weekly).
(1A) The amount of the primary Class 1 contribution in respect of the relevant part of those earnings ("amount A") shall be reduced by an amount equal to 1.6 per cent of that part.
(1B) The amount of any secondary Class 1 contribution in respect of the earnings ("amount B") shall be reduced by an amount equal to 3 per cent of the relevant part of those earnings ("amount C").
(1C) Where amount C exceeds amount B, the excess shall be set off against the amount which the secondary contributor is liable to pay (under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992) in respect of amount A."
. For subsections (1) and (2) of section 42A of that Act (reduced rates of Class 1 contributions, and rebates) there shall be substituted the following subsections--
"(1) Subsections (2) to (3) apply where--
(a) the earnings paid to or for the benefit of an earner in any tax week are in respect of an employment which is contracted-out employment at the time of the payment, and
(b) the earner's service in the employment is service which qualifies him for a pension provided by a money purchase contracted-out scheme;
and in subsections (2) and (2A) "the relevant part", in relation to those earnings, means so much of those earnings as exceeds the current lower earnings limit but not the current upper earnings limit for that week (or the prescribed equivalents if the earner is paid otherwise than weekly).
(2) The amount of the primary Class 1 contribution in respect of the relevant part of those earnings ("amount A") shall be reduced by an amount equal to the appropriate flat-rate percentage of that part.
(2A) The amount of any secondary Class 1 contribution in respect of the earnings ("amount B") shall be reduced by an amount equal to the appropriate flat-rate percentage of the relevant part of those earnings ("amount C").
(2B) Where amount C exceeds amount B, the excess shall be set off against the amount which the secondary contributor is liable to pay (under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992) in respect of amount A."").
Page 88, line 2, leave out ("the Pension Schemes Act 1993") and insert ("that Act (disclosure of information between government departments etc.)").
Page 89, line 8, at end insert--
(" . After subsection (3) of section 2 of the Jobseekers Act (the contribution-based conditions) there shall be inserted the following subsection--
"(3A) Where primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid on any part of a person's earnings, subsections (2)(b) and (3) above shall have effect as if such contributions had been paid or treated as paid on so much of the earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit."").
Page 89, line 9, leave out ("(8) of section 6 of the Jobseekers") and insert ("(6) of section 6 of that").
Page 89, line 10, after ("employment),") insert--
("(a) the words "("the first determination")" shall cease to have effect; and
(b) for the words "on a review of the first determination" there shall be substituted the words "under section 9 or 10 of the Social Security Act 1998".
( ) In subsection (8) of that section,").
Page 89, line 11, at end insert--
(". In subsection (7) of section 7 of that Act (actively seeking employment)--
(a) the words "("the first determination")" shall cease to have effect; and
(b) for the words "on a review of the first determination" there shall be substituted the words "under section 9 or 10 of the Social Security Act 1998".").
Page 91, line 20, at end insert--
. In subsection (5) of section 215 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (employment abroad etc.), for the words "the Social Security Administration Act 1992" there shall be substituted the words "Chapter II of Part I of the Social Security Act 1998".").
On Question, amendments agreed to.
Schedule 8 [Repeals]:
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