§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people will lose from the change in the qualifying hours threshold for income support or family credit from 24 to 16 hours; and what savings will be made after transitional protection has run out in each case.
§ Mr. BurtNo one who was working, or whose partner was working, between 16 and 24 hours a week and receiving Income Support at the point of change lost their entitlement to that benefit as a result of the change in the hours threshold in income support and family credit. Many of those affected will be families with children who will be better off on family credit than they would have been on income support. Many others will remain on income support under special provisions giving them indefinite protection.
As families affected will either be better off or no worse off, there is expected to be a benefit cost, rather than a saving, as a result of the changes.