§ Mr. Frank CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provisions are to be made to ensure that recipients of the proposed higher level of severe disablement allowance will not be worse off as a result of paying non-dependent deductions as a consequence of losing their entitlement to income support. [66969]
§ Mr. BayleyAt present people severely disabled from birth or at an early age who are unable to work cannot earn the right to Incapacity Benefit. Under the proposals288W for reform of Severe Disablement Allowance, set out in the Consultation Paper "Support for Disabled People", people who become disabled early in life and claim benefit before the age of 20 will be entitled to Incapacity Benefit without having to satisfy the contribution conditions.
Where a person who is claiming Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Support Mortgage Interest or Jobseeker' s Allowance Mortgage Interest has a nondependent adult living in their household, a deduction is normally made from their relevant benefit in respect of that non-dependant to reflect a reasonable contribution towards household costs. These deductions are made at standard rates according to the non-dependant's age and circumstances. No special provisions apply to non-dependants who are in receipt of Incapacity Benefit. It is, of course, for the individuals concerned to decide how much, if anything, a non-dependant actually contributes.
People who become entitled to Incapacity Benefit under the new proposals will not be worse off as a result of paying an amount equivalent to non-dependent deductions as a consequence of losing their entitlement to Income Support.
As an example:
A single man aged 19 with severe learning difficulties lives with his parents who are claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. As he currently receives Severe Disablement Allowance and Income Support of £61.30 a week no non-dependent deduction is made from his parents' Housing Benefit. Under our new proposals, he will receive Incapacity Benefit of £78.30 a week (at current rates) after a year on benefit which is £17.00 a week more than he currently gets. His parents will have a non-dependent deduction of £7.00 a week made from their Housing Benefit and a further deduction of £2.00 a week from their Council Tax Benefit. In this particular example, even if the young person contributes £9.00 a week towards his parents' household expenses he will still be better off by £8.00 a week.
§ Mr. Frank CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how much of the annual cost of implementing the proposed changes to severe disablement allowance will be offset as a result of taking claimants out of income support in respect of(a) nondependent deductions for claimants living with recipients of housing benefit, council tax benefit or housing costs allowance (b) claimants no longer receiving free prescriptions, dental or optical services and (c) claimants no longer being able to access Social Fund community care grants. [66997]
§ Mr. BayleyThe information on which to base an estimate is not available.