HC Deb 15 December 2003 vol 415 cc691-2W
Mr. Cousins:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to issue guidance that small gifts of cash to relatives under the age of 18 will be exempted from the Pension Credit and Income Support deprivation of capital requirements. [144002]

Malcolm Wicks:

As with all the income related benefits, someone may be treated as having capital they do not actually have if they deliberately deprive themselves of the resource to secure or increase entitlement to Pension Credit, but it is not necessarily the case that they will be. The main purpose of this is to guard against people giving away capital with the intention of increasing benefit entitlement.

In addition, in Pension Credit people will not be treated as depriving themselves of capital if they have used their resources to reduce or repay a debt (for example, a mortgage), or to buy something which was reasonable in their circumstances (for example, a car). This is part of normal financial planning which people age 60 and over may undertake, particularly on retirement.

Guidance provides that decisions must be made in the light of the circumstances of each case and the considerable body of case-law which has developed on similarly worded provisions.