Welfare Reform Bill — Clause 10 — Universal Credit Payments In Relation to Disabled Children and Young People — 1 Feb 2012 at 19:00

The majority of MPs rejected a proposal to set the lower rate of the Universal Credit payment in relation to disabled children and young people at a minimum of two-thirds of the higher rate. The aim of the rejected proposal was to prevent the lower rate being set too much lower than the higher rate.

The motion technically voted on was:

• That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.

Lords amendment 1 stated^[2]:

• Page 4, line 34, at end insert “, such additional amount to be paid at either a higher rate, or a lower rate, which shall be no less than two-thirds of the higher rate as may be prescribed”

The above text would have been added to the end of clause 10(2) which read^[3]:

• (1)The calculation of an award of universal credit is to include an amount for each child or qualifying young person for whom a claimant is responsible.
• (2)Regulations may make provision for the inclusion of an additional amount if such a child or qualifying young person is disabled.

Molly Meacher (Baroness Meacher, of Spitalfields in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Crossbencher) explained why she had proposed the amendment when she moved it in the House of Lords^[3]:

• Amendment 1 seeks to ensure that the gap between the higher and normal-rate additions for disabled children is not too great.
• ...
• Very briefly, under the new provision for a disability addition and a higher addition, families who have a child who is eligible for the higher addition will receive £1.50 per week more than current claimants do, but families with disabled children who do not meet the stiff criteria for the higher addition will receive £27 per week less. Most families with a disabled child will therefore lose about £1,400 a year.
• This amendment would peg the normal addition for disabled children at two-thirds the level of the higher disability addition for children.

The figure of £1,400 has also been quoted by Gary Vaux, head of money advice at Hertfordshire Council^[5], who has stated:

• families with a disabled child entering the benefit system after universal credit is introduced will find themselves up to £1,400 a year worse off than current claimants. Over the course of a childhood that could total £22,000 for each disabled child.

==

• [1] Welfare Reform Bill page on the Parliament website (now the Welfare Reform Act 2012)
• [2] Lords Amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill - 1 February 2012
• [3] Clause 10 of the Welfare Reform Bill as at 17 June 2011 which the proposed amendment would have changed
• [4] Molly Meacher (Baroness Meacher, of Spitalfields in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Crossbencher), House of Lords, 31 January 2012
• [5] Welfare Rights: Disabled children face slide into poverty, Gary Vaux, head of money advice at Hertfordshire Council, Community Care, 11 November 2011

Debate in Parliament | Source |