Welfare Reform and Work Bill

Paul_Treloar_CPAG - 30 July 2015 10:00 AM

In other news, we met DWP yesterday who confirmed that, in relation to this policy, families with disabled children born after 6 April 2017 will have child elements restricted to two children, as with other families, with the new disability element intended to provide some financial support otherwise.

So the government recognises the disability of the child but not the child?

I am not a lawyer but .... is this going to stand up to legal challenge?

MartinB - 30 July 2015 04:15 PM

Paul_Treloar_CPAG - 30 July 2015 10:00 AM

In other news, we met DWP yesterday who confirmed that, in relation to this policy, families with disabled children born after 6 April 2017 will have child elements restricted to two children, as with other families, with the new disability element intended to provide some financial support otherwise.

So the government recognises the disability of the child but not the child?

I am not a lawyer but .... is this going to stand up to legal challenge?

 

We shall see (I expect).

Guardian reports that “Two Conservative MPs have voiced concern about the scale of George Osborne’s proposed cuts to tax credits, raising the possibility of a wider backbench rebellion.

Both MPs voted for the government’s welfare reform and work bill at its second reading in July, but their decision to speak out about the potential impact of the cuts will be a warning signal to Osborne not to take the support of backbenchers for granted.”

Two Tory MPs question scale of planned tax credit cuts

“In other news, we [CPAG] met DWP yesterday who confirmed that, in relation to this policy, families with disabled children born after 6 April 2017 will have child elements restricted to two children, as with other families, with the new disability element intended to provide some financial support otherwise.”[/quote]

Hi Paul,

Sorry, can’t get my head around this.

Is this right?

If someone has two children born after 6 April 2017 then they do not have any child element restrictions (or restrictions on the award of the disabled child element/severely disabled child element).

If they then have another child who is disabled they will not get the individual third element for this third child but will have the disabled child element/severely disabled child element awarded.

Thanks for any help you can be.

Ken Butler - 10 August 2015 04:46 PM

Hi Paul,

Sorry, can’t get my head around this.

Is this right?

If someone has two children born after 6 April 2017 then they do not have any child element restrictions (or restrictions on the award of the disabled child element/severely disabled child element).

If they then have another child who is disabled they will not get the individual third element for this third child but will have the disabled child element/severely disabled child element awarded.

Thanks for any help you can be.

That was my understanding of the information we were given at that meeting. It certainly seems to be the way that the relevant sections of the Bill are drafted, hence why I asked for clarification. It’s also implied in the explanatory notes.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the fast reply.

Ken

Emily Thornberry MP has written useful critique around plans to lower benefit cap further, in light of the recent Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court trusted the Government to do the right thing in the cap case, in which Lord Carnwath, while upholding the measure, called on the Government to rethink its approach. I would hope”, he wrote, “that in the course of their review of the scheme, the government will address the implications of these findings […] However, it is in the political, rather than the legal arena, that the consequences of that must be played out.”

So let’s see how it has played out. Instead of seeking to mitigate some of the harshest impacts of the policy as the Court had seemed to advise, the Government announced just weeks after the ruling that the scope of the cap will now be increased dramatically. Lowering the level of the cap by £3,000 in London and £6,000 elsewhere will, according to the Government’s own impact assessment, extend its effects to an additional 224,000 children.

Human rights conventions: when some are more equal than others?

Ken Butler - 10 August 2015 04:46 PM

Hi Paul,

Sorry, can’t get my head around this.

Is this right?

If someone has two children born after 6 April 2017 then they do not have any child element restrictions (or restrictions on the award of the disabled child element/severely disabled child element).

If they then have another child who is disabled they will not get the individual third element for this third child but will have the disabled child element/severely disabled child element awarded.

Thanks for any help you can be.

Hi Ken,

See the attached HMRC B&C consultation update, which confirms our understanding re: disabled children born after 6 April 2017 not having an entitlement to child elements.

Child Tax Credit support limited to two children
The support is calculated in two parts and both are changing. The child element that goes to make up CTC will be limited to two children for each family from 6 April 2017. This will apply where a family has a third or subsequent child born on or after this date.
The basic family element of CTC, currently worth up to £545 a year, will be removed. This change will apply to families whose first child is born after the start date.
However, the government announced that there will be certain circumstances where the new limits will not apply:
* multiple births will be treated as a single birth, for the purposes of this policy
* third or subsequent disabled children born on or after 6 April 2017 will still receive the disabled child element (currently £3,140) and the CTC severely disabled child element (currently £4,415), although they will not qualify for the general child element. This recognises that a family could not have known of a disability before deciding to have a child and protects those who need it the most
* we’re working with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop a legal exception which will protect women who have a third child as the result of rape and consider other exceptional circumstances, such as abusive relationships.

Do you know, there’s something about this one that makes my blood boil more than anything else they’ve done? Not sure exactly why but there’s an inherent pettiness about it that really gets up my nose.

Andyp4 - 27 August 2015 10:35 AM

HM Revenue & Customs Benefits and Credits email update?

Paul do you have a email address where by people can subscribe to the attached wotsit, by any chance????????????????

bccg[AT]hmrc.gsi.gov.uk should allow you to get onto the mailing list Andy, replacing the bold [AT} with an @ of course.

Welfare Reform and Work Bill 2015: human rights memorandum has been published.

Also been passed copy of the draft SI to lower thresholds and raise the taper rate for tax credits.

The Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015

Apparently, this is scheduled for a 90 minute debate and vote next Tuesday.

Here’s correspondence betwen SSAC and the Treasury re the draft Tax Credit regs, in which the Committee raises a number of concerns

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-tax-credits-income-thresholds-and-determination-of-rates-amendment-regulations-2015-ssac-comments

shawn - 10 September 2015 10:32 AM

Here’s correspondence betwen SSAC and the Treasury re the draft Tax Credit regs, in which the Committee raises a number of concerns

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-tax-credits-income-thresholds-and-determination-of-rates-amendment-regulations-2015-ssac-comments

we help a huge number of clients into supported employment and these changes will be devastating for this group as the vast majority tend to have DLA/PIP and be in lower paid/part time work.

Committee stage started today

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork.html
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/committees/houseofcommonspublicbillcommitteeonthewelfarereformandworkbill201516.html