§ Mr. RapsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to introduce the benefit run-on for lone parents starting work; what effect this will have on the housing benefit and council tax benefit extended payments scheme; and if he will make a statement. [93901]
§ Angela EagleThe lone parent's benefit run-on will give extra help, and financial security, to lone parents during the transition from welfare to work. It will allow lone parents who have been getting Income Support (IS) or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance for at least six months to be paid IS for their first two weeks in work, provided that work is expected to last at least five weeks. We expect more than 100,000 lone parents to benefit from the run-on in a full year (about 5,000 at a point in time), at a cost of between £15 million and £25 million.
We also intend to make consequential changes to the Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) extended payment schemes. At present, these schemes give four extra weeks HB and/or CTB to a number of groups—including lone parents—moving from income-related benefits to work, provided they claim it. Lone parents getting the IS benefit run-on will automatically retain entitlement to maximum HB/CTB during the run-on period, and will then receive extended payments for the next two weeks without the need for a separate claim. This should ensure that they continue to receive maximum HB/CTB for the first four weeks of work.
The benefit run-on complements other aspects of welfare-to-work policies, in particular the New Deal for lone parents. It is a positive response to concerns that the abrupt withdrawal of what has been a regular income, 300W the gap between starting work and receiving wages and the wait for in-work benefits can combine to form a barrier to making the move into work. These concerns can be particularly acute for lone parents, who often have to meet child care costs in advance.
We are also taking this opportunity to broaden the scope of the HB/CTB extended payments scheme to include sick and disabled people moving from income-related benefits into work. This will benefit an estimated 22,000 people a year at an annual cost of £3 million.
Draft regulations have been referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee and consultation with representatives of Local Authority Associations is under way. Following this, we plan to lay the regulations during September to bring the scheme into place in October to coincide with the introduction of Working Families Tax Credit.