§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes, if any, are proposed to the existing £15 weekly disregard available to couples where the claimant's unemployment duration exceeds two years under the proposed arrangements for a back-to-work bonus available to jobseeker's allowance recipients; what is the proposed maximum accumulation period during which a claimant or claimant's partner in part-time work may have benefit deducted to be set aside; under what circumstances a claimant's partner who obtains full-time work will be eligible for receipt of the back to work bonus; and how the back to work bonus income will be treated for the purposes of pay-as-you-earn or national insurance contributions.
§ Mr. Roger EvansUnder our proposals for jobseeker's allowance the £15 earnings disregard for long-term unemployed couples will be abolished. A £10 disregard will apply for all couples in place of the usual £5 per person under current income support rules. Where a person is receiving income-related jobseeker's allowance, or income support, a partner's earnings will help to build up a bonus, which can be paid if the partner obtains work of 24 or more hours a week. No decision has yet been made on whether there should be a maximum accumulation period. The back to work bonus will not be subject to income tax and national insurance contributions.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the best estimates of the numbers of unemployed people who are currently receiving income support at the reduced rate on grounds of hardship who would not qualify under the proposed jobseeker's allowance arrangements; under the new arrangements, in372W what circumstances entitlement to either housing benefit or assistance with payment of mortgage interest payments continue if an unemployed claimant is under sanction but cannot demonstrate that a household member would suffer hardship; and what arrangements are envisaged under the jobseeker's allowance for the treatment of unemployed claimants who are judged to be voluntarily unemployed on grounds of misconduct or voluntary leaving; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Roger EvansA total of 2,779 hardship payments were made in the year to March 1994 to unemployed people who were found not available for or actively seeking work. The arrangements for access to hardship payments under the proposed jobseeker's allowance will broadly follow those which apply for actively seeking work in income support. Payments are made at the discretion of an adjudication officer on a case-by-case basis. Estimates of those who would not receive payments under the jobseeker's allowance are not available.
Sanctioned claimants not in receipt of hardship payment in a given week will be able to claim housing benefit on income grounds. During the period of the sanction they will not be entitled to jobseeker's allowance, including any elements in respect of help with mortgage interest payments.
People who leave work voluntarily without just cause, or through misconduct, will not receive jobseeker's allowance for up to 26 weeks unless they can demonstrate that a member of their household would suffer hardship. Hardship payments will be made under income-related jobseeker's allowance and will be equivalent to a reduction of 40 per cent. or 20 per cent. of the personal allowance. Such payments will not be available for the first two weeks of a benefit sanction except to people with children, with caring responsibilities, who are pregnant or have a pregnant partner, or who are sick or disabled or who have a partner who is sick or disabled.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimate, based on the most recent information for income support recipients, of the number people likely to become eligible for jobseeker's allowance as a result of extending the threshold of a partner's weekly working hours from 16 to 24; what is the estimated cost from payment of income support to those brought into eligibility; and what changes, if any, will be made to eligibility for either housing benefit or assistance with mortgage interest payments to jobseeker's allowance recipients with a partner employed for less than 24 hours per week.
§ Mr. Roger EvansInformation on the costs of, and the number of people who will benefit from, the change in the partner's hours threshold is given in the table.
Those entitled to either income support or income-related jobseeker's allowance as a result of the increase in the partner's hours threshold will continue to be entitled to maximum help with their rent, subject to any deductions for non-dependants or ineligible service charges. Had the hours threshold not been increased, housing benefit could still have been claimed on income grounds where the partner was working 16 hours or more per week. In these cases where net income, including partner's earnings, exceeds income support levels, the amount of help from housing benefit will reduce as 373W income rises, as now. Help with mortgage interest payments will also continue where the partner is working for less than 24 hours per week. If the partner's hours threshold had not been increased no help with mortgage
Increase in the numbers eligible Increase in the number of claimants Cost of IS/JSA (IR) £ million FC Saving£ million Total net cost£ million JSA (income related) (IR) 25,000 15,000 35 25 10 Income Support (IS) 5,000 5,000 5 — 5 Total 25,000 20,000 40 25 15 Notes:
JSA—Jobseekers allowance
FC—Family credit
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
Modelled on the PSM using the 1990–91–92 FES and the 1994–95 benefit system.
All caseload figures rounded to the nearest 5,000 and savings/costs to the nearest £5 million.
Estimates do not include any tax or behavioural impacts.
Costs/savings are given in 1997–98 prices and assume 2.4 million unemployed.
Couples are assumed to claim IS/JSA only if they are better off on IS/JSA than they would be on FC.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under the proposed arrangements for the jobseeker's allowance, what will be the taper for reducing the allowance above the £50 weekly ceiling for those unemployed claimants whose payment will be abated on the ground of their receipt of occupational pension income; and what are the best estimates available of the total numbers of unemployed claimants who would be affected by this abatement and the number who would lose the entirety of the jobseeker's allowance payment, in both cases for those aged over 55 years and those aged 55 years and under giving separate figures.
§ Mr. Roger EvansAs is currently the case with unemployment benefit, there will be a 100 per cent. taper. The precise mechanism is still under consideration. However, current broad estimates of the numbers of people who will be affected by the occupational pension abatement rules in jobseeker's allowance as well as the numbers of unemployed claimants who will not receive any jobseeker's allowance because their pensions are too large is set out in the table.
Aged less than 55 Aged more than 55 Estimated number of unemployed claimants who receive no JSA because of pension 5,000 5,000 Estimated number of JSA recipients with pensions of more than £50 per week 5,000 5,000 Estimated number of JSA recipients with pensions of less than £50 per week 5,000 10,000 Notes:
(1) All caseload estimates rounded to the nearest 5,000; as a result the figures do not sum.
(2) All estimates assume that JSA has been introduced and the length of entitlement is set at six months. Estimates assume that any occupational pension above £50 per week is abated against
374Winterest payments would have been available if the partner worked for 16 hours or more per week, as entitlement to income-related jobseeker's allowance would have been extinguished.
benefit. Estimates assume that there is no age limit under which occupational pensions are abated.
(3) Estimates assume 2.4 million unemployed claimants and 500,000 UB cases.
(4) Estimates use the 1993 and 1994 Unemployment Benefits Statistics, the 1993 Annual Statistical Enquiry, and the policy simulation model using 1990–91–92 data.
(5) Estimates do not include tax or behavioural implications.
(6) Estimates assume that those claimants aged less than 55 who currently receive UB and who will not be eligible for any contributory JSA continue to claim benefit.