Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill — Second Reading — Capping Increase of Specified Benefits at 1% — 8 Jan 2013 at 18:50

The majority of MPs voted to cap any increase discretionary working age benefits and tax credits at 1% in 2014-15 and 2015-16

The explanatory notes to the bill[2] state its purpose was to implement a decision announced in the Autumn Statement:

  • In the Autumn Statement, it was announced that in light of the national economic situation, certain working-age social security benefits and payments, and certain elements of tax credits, would be up-rated by 1 per cent, rather than prices (as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (‘CPI’), 2.2 per cent), for the tax year 2013-14.

The vote was on the second reading of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill; the majority of MPs voted in favour, supporting the basic principles of the bill and allowing it to progress towards becoming law.

Minister Iain Duncan Smith summarised the effect of the bill saying:[2]

  • The Bill provides that discretionary working age benefits and tax credits will be uprated by 1% for a further two years in the tax years 2014-15 and 2015-16, if prices have risen by at least 1%. The schedule to the Bill sets out the benefit payments and tax credits

The explanatory notes to the bill[2] list the working-age social security benefits and payments in question as:

  • The main rates of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit; and the work-related activity group component of Employment and Support Allowance;
  • Maternity Allowance; and Statutory Adoption, Maternity, Paternity and Sick Pay.

An amendment was proposed suggesting MPs decline a second reading; this was subject of a separate vote.

Debate in Parliament | Source |

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Party Summary

Votes by party, red entries are votes against the majority for that party.

What is Tell? '+1 tell' means that in addition one member of that party was a teller for that division lobby.

What are Boths? An MP can vote both aye and no in the same division. The boths page explains this.

What is Turnout? This is measured against the total membership of the party at the time of the vote.

PartyMajority (Aye)Minority (No)BothTurnout
Alliance0 10100.0%
Con283 (+1 tell) 0093.1%
DUP0 7087.5%
Green0 10100.0%
Lab0 242 (+2 tell)094.6%
LDem39 (+1 tell) 4280.7%
PC0 30100.0%
SDLP0 2066.7%
SNP0 60100.0%
Total:322 266292.5%

Rebel Voters - sorted by party

MPs for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party. You can see all votes in this division, or every eligible MP who could have voted in this division

Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote

NameConstituencyPartyVote
Julian HuppertCambridgeLDem (front bench)no
John LeechManchester, WithingtonLDem (front bench)no
Sarah TeatherBrent CentralLDemno
David WardBradford EastLDem (front bench)no
Andrew GeorgeSt IvesLDem (front bench)both
Charles KennedyRoss, Skye and LochaberLDem (front bench)both

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