Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill — Age additions — 17 May 1999

Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.

does not arise in relation to a particular payment or benefit or (as the case may be) a particular part of a payment or benefit;

(g) for securing that, to the specified extent, two or more connected persons (within the meaning of section 839 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988) are treated as a single person for any purposes of the regulations;

(h) (without prejudice to paragraph (g) above) for securing that a contract made with a person other than the client is to be treated for any such purposes as made with the client;

(i) for excluding or modifying the application of the regulations in relation to such cases, or payments or benefits of such description, as may be specified.

(4) Regulations under this section may make provision for securing that, in applying any provisions of the regulations, any term of a contract or other arrangement which appears to be of a description specified in the regulations is to be disregarded.

(5) Any regulations made in pursuance of subsection (3)(i) above may be framed by reference to--

(a) any certification procedure which may be established by the Treasury for the purposes of that provision, or

(b) such certification procedure established by the Inland Revenue as may be specified;

and any regulations made in pursuance of section 2(2) above or section 7(2) below may also be framed by reference to any certification procedure such as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) above.

(6) In this section--

"the applicable provisions of this Act" means this Part of this Act and Parts II to V below;

"business" includes any activity carried on--

(a) by a government department or public or local authority (in the United Kingdom or elsewhere), or

(b) by a body corporate, unincorporated body or partnership;

"relevant payments or benefits" means payments or benefits of any specified description made or provided (whether to the third party or the worker or otherwise) in connection with the performance by the worker of the services in question;

"specified" means prescribed by or determined in accordance with regulations under this section;

"third party" includes--

(a) any person with whom the worker holds any office or employment, and

(b) any body corporate, unincorporated body or partnership of which the worker is a member.

(7) Any reference in this section to the performance by the worker of any services includes a reference to any such obligation of his to perform them as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above.

(8) Regulations under this section shall be made by the Treasury with the concurrence of the Department.

(9) If, on any modification of the statutory provisions relating to income tax it appears to the Treasury to be expedient to modify any of the preceding provisions of this section for the purpose of assimilating the law relating to income tax and the law relating to contributions under this Part of this Act, the Treasury may with the concurrence of the Department by order make such modifications of the preceding provisions of this section as the Treasury think appropriate for that purpose." '.-- [Mr. Kevin Hughes.]

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Michael Lord):

With this, it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 4-- Income support premiums payable upon termination of bereavement allowance --

Motion and clause, by leave, withdrawn.

Brought up, and read the First time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

New clause 2 gives the Secretary of State additional powers. After the debate that we have just had, many Labour Members may feel that giving the Secretary of State additional powers is the last thing that they want to do. The new clause allows the Secretary of State to do something that the Minister told us the social security system needs to do--not to leave policies set in stone for decades, but to reflect the changing patterns of a modern society.

The new clause, which is supported by my right hon. and hon. Friends and, I am pleased to say, the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field), calls on the Government to take an extra power. That power would enable them to pay age additions to the basic state pension not just at the age of 80, which is currently written into primary legislation, but at such ages and at such rates as the Government saw fit. The Secretary of State could decide to pay age additions at 75, 80 and 85. He could decide to pay age additions not at the current, rather insulting, 25p, but at whatever rate he saw fit. The new

17 May 1999 : Column 814

clause gives the Secretary of State new powers, but takes away none that he currently possesses. For that reason, I am sure the Government will welcome it with open arms.

Question put, That the clause be read a Second time:--

The House divided: Ayes 41, Noes 361.

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