§ Mr. Brandon-Bravoasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any further plans for changes in the rules concerning benefits for unemployed people.
§ Mr. NewtonSection 20(1) of the Social Security Act 1975 requires a person claiming unemployment benefit to be disqualified from receiving benefit for up to six weeks if he: voluntarily leaves employment without just cause; refuses or fails, without good cause, to apply for a suitable job; neglects to avail himself of a reasonable opportunity of suitable employment; fails to carry out reasonable official recommendations to assist him to find suitable employment; refuses or fails to avail himself of a reasonable opportunity of approved training; or loses employment through misconduct.
There are parallel rules for supplementary benefit. If a person disqualified under Section 20(1) (or someone who would be disqualified if he had underlying title to unemployment benefit) applies for supplementary benefit, that benefit is paid at a reduced level, also for up to six weeks. The amount of the reduction, currently prescribed in regulation 8 of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1983 is 40 per cent. of the appropriate scale rate, or 20 per cent. in cases where there is pregnancy or serious illness in the household. This deduction applies only to the benefit paid for the claimant personally, and not to any benefit payable for a partner or child.
The Government have reviewed these arrangements and propose to extend the maximum period of disqualification from 6 weeks to 13 weeks, and to make a similar extension in the maximum period of reduction in supplementary benefit.
Decisions on, for example, whether the claimant had just cause for leaving his job, and the actual period of disqualification or benefit reduction within the maximum will, as now, continue to be taken by independent adjudication officers. The requirement to make a lower reduction in supplementary benefit in cases where there is serious illness or pregnancy in the household will be maintained, as will the right of appeal to a social security appeal tribunal.
For unemployment benefit, an amendment to achieve the proposed change will be tabled to the Social Security Bill currently being considered in Standing Committee; this will also provide for the removal by regulations of the present anomaly whereby a disqualified person who remains unemployed to exhaustion of benefit effectively has his entitlement deferred rather than reduced. It will provide also for any further necessary amendments to be made by regulations. The supplementary benefit changes will be made by regulations. Subject to the passage of legislation the Government propose to bring in the extension to 13 weeks in October.