§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)My right honourable friend the Paymaster-General (Dawn Primarolo) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I said in a Written Answer on 11 March (Official Report, 11 March 2004, col. 1645W) that the timing of the phased transfer on to child tax credit (CTC) of the remaining families with children in receipt of income support/jobseeker's allowance, planned to begin from October, would be subject to a final review in the summer and that in the meantime, families would continue to receive the same level of support through their benefits as they would from CTC.
It is extremely important to safeguard continuity of support for children among this particularly vulnerable group. Following further consideration of the proposed timetable, I have decided that the transfer should be deferred and begin instead in the course of next year. This will allow a full cycle of tax credits activity to be completed before these families are transferred in.
Meanwhile, as I announced in March, I can again confirm that families will continue to receive the same level of financial support through their benefits as they would from CTC.