Research Briefing
To access most social security benefits and tax credits, a EEA national has to have a 'right to reside' in the UK. Broadly speaking, this means they must be economically active. The European Commission has stared infingement proceedings agains the UK on the basis that the test discriminates against non-UK nationals from other Member States, but the UK Government has pedged to fight any challenge.
Research Briefing
The Commons Report Stage and Third Reading of the Welfare Reform Bill took place on 13 and 15 June. Amendments relating to the Universal Credit, housing support, the Social Fund and the Personal Independence Payment were debated, but other groups of amendments –including those on Employment and Support Allowance changes and the benefit cap – were not discussed as proceedings on each day reached the deadlines specified in the programme motion before they could be considered.
Research Briefing
This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. It complements Research Papers 11/23 and 11/24, prepared for the Commons Second Reading debate.
Research Briefing
The Habitual Residence Test is applied to people (unless they are exempt categories) who have recently arrived in the country and who make a claim for certain means-tested social security benefits, or seek housing assistance from a local authority.
Research Briefing
The Welfare Reform Bill provides for the introduction of a 'Universal Credit' to replace a range of existing means-tested benefits and tax credits for people of working age, starting from 2013. The Bill follows the November 2010 White Paper, Universal Credit: welfare that works, which set out the Government’s proposals for reforming welfare to improve work incentives, simplify the benefits system and tackle administrative complexity.
Research Briefing
This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. For information on the provision in the Bill relating to the introduction of Universal Credit, please see the complementary Library Research Paper, 11/24. Besides Universal Credit, the Bill proposes a number of other significant welfare reforms, including replacement of the current Disability Living Allowance, restriction of Housing Benefit entitlement to social housing tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need, time-limiting the payment of contributory Employment and Support Allowance to twelve months, and capping the total amount of benefit that can be claimed.
Research Briefing
On 11 November 2010 the Government set out plans for a 'Universal Credit' to replace most in work and out of work benefits for people of working age. This note gives an overview of the main features of the Universal Credit and looks at some of the issues raised by the proposals.
Research Briefing
The June 2010 Budget announced that a new "objective medical assessment" would be introduced for both new and existing working age DLA claims from 2013-14, saving over £1 billion a year by 2014-15 and reducing the DLA caseload by 20%. On 6 December the Government published a consultation paper, Disability Living Allowance reform, which sets out plans for an entirely new benefit - the "Personal Independence Payment" - to replace DLA, starting from 2013-14.
Research Briefing
The June 2010 Budget announced that from April 2011 the Sure Start Maternity Grant would be restricted to the first child only in a family, saving around £73 million a year. The Social Security Advisory Committee believes that the measure "lacks a coherently argued rationale", and the House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee has suggested that the Government needs to set out more clearly the rationale for the change and its anticipated impact. A particular concern is that changes to the Social Fund Budgeting Loans scheme to mitigate the impact on families will not come into effect until early 2012.
Research Briefing
In a recent test case brought by the Child Poverty Action Group, the Supreme Court ruled that the Department for Work and Pensions did not have the power to recover benefit overpayments caused by administrative error under common law. The Government has indicated that it intends to amend the law to enable it it recover a wider range of overpayments, including those caused by official error. Measures are expected in the forthcoming Welfare Reform Bill.
Research Briefing
The Spending Review on 20 October 2010 announced that, from April 2012, for those Employment and Support Allowance claimants assessed as eligible for the Work Related Activity Group, contributory ESA will only be payable for up to one year. Some claimants affected by the change will be able to claim income-based ESA, but it is estimated that around 280,000 could lose entitlement to ESA completely.
Research Briefing
The October 2010 Spending Review announced that the DLA mobility component would be withdrawn from people in care homes whose place was funded by a public body. The proposal was dropped by the Government during the passage of Welfare Reform Bill 2010-12. This note gives background to the original proposal and summarises initial reactions to it.
Research Briefing
This Commons Library briefing paper has been archived as it no longer offers up-to-date information. However, we have published other papers which may be of interest.
Research Briefing
Cold Weather Payments are made to certain claimants of means-tested benefits during periods of very cold weather. To trigger the £25 payments, the average temperature in an area must be recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for seven consecutive days.
Research Briefing
The Bill gives effect to decisions made as part of the initial review of public expenditure undertaken soon after the 2010 General Election. This Paper summarises proceedings in the Commons Committee Stage of the Bill. Several amendments proposed but none were successful. The paper complements Research Paper 10/66, which was prepared for the Second Reading of the Bill.
Total results (page 17 of 19)