HC Deb 12 February 1996 vol 271 c469W
Mr. Rooney

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to reform child benefit. [14860]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

Two reforms of child benefit are planned:

  1. (i) Draft regulations are currently the subject of statutory consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee and the local authorities. These restructure child and one-parent benefit to provide a more flexible mechanism for considering the relative level of support provided to lone parents as against that for two-parent families with children.
  2. (ii) Clause 10 of the Asylum and Immigration Bill provides that persons who require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom shall not be entitled to child benefit except under such conditions as may be prescribed in regulations. The intention is to bring child benefit into line with other social security benefits.