Welfare Reform Bill

Leave out Clause 100

Page 73, line 28, at end insert—

“71ZJ Non-recoverable overpayments

The Secretary of State may not recover any amount of any benefits paid in error by officials when the claimants could not reasonably be expected to know they where being overpaid.””

Insert the following new Clause—

“Guidelines to be followed by officials of jobcentres and local authorities when imposing sanctions, penalties or overpayments

(1) The Secretary of State shall issue guidelines applying to claimants which must, when imposing sanctions or penalties, be followed by officials of jobcentres and local authorities.

(2) When drafting the guidelines referred to in subsection (1) the Secretary of State will have regard to guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council covering the determination of fines.

(3) Officials of jobcentres and local authorities shall take into account all the relevant factors and circumstances of welfare claimants before deciding to impose any sanction or any penalty and before deciding to recover any overpayment.

(4) It shall be the duty of the decision makers in jobcentres or local authorities to give reasons for any decision in any case where any sanction or penalty is imposed upon a welfare claimant and where any decision is made that an overpayment is recoverable.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Loss or reduction of benefits

The Secretary of State may not impose a sanction under section 26 or 27 on a claimant falling under section 22 where the claimant does not have guaranteed and predictable access to childcare meeting the needs of any child for which the claimant is the responsible carer.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Secretary of State obligations

Before the introduction of the Universal Credit system can commence, and full migration of the new system initiated, the Secretary of State must publish a report, demonstrating that all of the following have been fully tested and established—

(a) the DWP IT system,

(b) HMRC IT system,

(c) the integration of the IT systems,

(d) administrative agreement between DWP, local authorities and other delivery agents, and

(e) other systems and processes necessary for the successful delivery of the Universal Credit system.”

Page 100, line 4, at end insert “or council tax”

Page 100, line 11, after “services” insert “, council tax”

Page 100, line 13, after “services” insert “, council tax”

Page 100, line 15, after “services” insert “, council tax”

Page 101, line 13, after “services” insert “or council tax”

Page 101, line 15, after “services” insert “or council tax”

Page 101, line 23, at end insert—

““council tax” includes any local tax to fund local authority expenditure;”

[Re-tabled as Amendment 62BJA]

Insert the following new Clause—

“Information sharing in relation to the Social Fund

Before sharing information regarding eligibility for services under section 69(3) of this Act, the Secretary of State shall satisfy himself that the Local Authority is intending to deliver these services in accordance with the purposes set out in the settlement letter that accompanies any payments made from the Consolidated Fund under section 69 and that arrangements have been made to report on the use of these payments.”

Page 104, line 16, after “information” insert “contained in a declaration made under section 9(1) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 or”

Page 105, leave out lines 1 to 3 and insert—

“(b) in particular, before accepting an application under those sections, invite the applicant to consider with the Commission whether it is possible to make such an agreement.”

Page 105, line 8, leave out from “(2)(b)” to second “to” in line 9 and insert “invite the applicant to consider with the Commission whether it is possible”

Page 105, line 11, at end insert—

“(3) In section 6 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (provision to allow charging of fees by the Commission), after subsection (2) there is inserted—

“(2A) Nothing in regulations under subsection (1) shall impose a liability on a parent with care for the payment of fees to the Commission where that parent has taken reasonable steps to establish whether it is possible or appropriate to make a maintenance agreement (within the meaning of section 9 of the Child Support Act 1991), and where, having taken such reasonable steps, it is either not possible or not appropriate for the parent with care to do so.””

Insert the following new Clause—

“Review of fees regulations

In section 6 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (fees), after subsection (3) there is inserted—

“(3A) The Secretary of State must review the effect of the first regulations made under subsection (1).

(3B) The review must take place before the end of the period of 30 months beginning with the day on which those regulations come into force.

(3C) After the review, the Secretary of State must make and publish a report containing—

(a) the conclusions of the review, and

(b) a statement as to what the Secretary of State proposes to do in view of those conclusions.

(3D) The report must be laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State.””

Insert the following new Clause—

“Standards of decision-making

Section 81 of the Social Security Act 1998 (reports by Secretary of State and Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission) is repealed.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Condition relating to mental health

In section 8 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (limited capability for work), after subsection (4) there is inserted—

“(4A) Regulations made under subsection (1) shall provide that a person assessed as suitable for employment and support allowance by virtue of his mental condition but not currently receiving treatment from a mental health provider service shall be immediately referred to an appropriate mental health provider service and the prime provider shall then ensure that the person is already receiving or now receives suitable mental health employment support.

(4B) The Secretary of State shall issue guidance on what constitutes an appropriate mental health provider service and suitable mental health employment support for the purposes of subsection (4A).””

Insert the following new Clause—

“UK child poverty strategies

(1) Section 9 of the Child Poverty Act 2010 (UK strategies) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (7)(a)(i)—

(a) for “progress” there is substituted “measures”;

(b) for “needs to be made” there is substituted “need to be taken”.

(3) In subsection (7)(a)(ii)—

(a) for “progress” there is substituted “measures”;

(b) for “intends to make” there is substituted “proposes to take”;

(c) for “in achieving” there is substituted “to achieve”.

(4) In subsection (7)(b)—

(a) for “progress” there is substituted “measures (other than those described under paragraph (a))”;

(b) for “intends to make” there is substituted “proposes to take”;

(c) for “in achieving” there is substituted “to achieve”;

(d) the words from “otherwise than” to the end are repealed.

(5) In subsection (8), for paragraphs (b) and (c) there is substituted “and

(b) give an account (in such manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate) of the effect of those measures, so far as relating to the purposes mentioned in subsection (2).””

Page 151, line 20, at end insert—

“( ) The Commission shall advise Ministers on how to eradicate child poverty within the UK.”

Page 151, line 32, leave out from “strategy” to end of line 34

Page 151, line 34, at end insert—

“( ) A report under subsection (1) must also describe—

(a) the measures taken by the Scottish Ministers in accordance with a Scottish strategy,

(b) the measures taken by the Welsh Ministers in accordance with a Welsh strategy, and

(c) in the case of a report made after the appointed day for Northern Ireland, the measures taken by the Northern Ireland departments in accordance with a Northern Ireland strategy.”

Page 152, line 9, at beginning insert “after the appointed day for Northern Ireland,”

Page 153, line 3, at end insert—

“( ) A Minister of the Crown may, if the Commission so requests, carry out or commission research for the purpose of the carrying out of the Commission’s functions.”

Page 153, line 11, at end insert—

“10A The Commission may at any time request the Secretary of State to carry out, or commission others to carry out, such research on behalf of the Commission for the purpose of the carrying out of the Commission’s functions as the Commission may specify in the request.

10B If the Secretary of State decides not to comply with the request, the Secretary of State must notify the Commission of the reasons for the decision.”

Page 154, line 29, at end insert—

“( ) After subsection (2) there is inserted—

“(3) In this Part “appointed day for Northern Ireland” means such day as a Minister of the Crown may by order with the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly appoint (and different days may be appointed for the purposes of different provisions of this Part).””

Page 165, line 19, at end insert “and “that Part of””

Page 165, line 23, at end insert—

Page 165, line 29, leave out “and (2)” and insert “(in both places), (2) and (2A)”

Page 165, line 29, at end insert—

Page 166, line 51, at end insert—

Page 175, line 33, at end insert—

Page 108, line 3, leave out “personal independence payment” and insert “personal disability costs payment”

Page 108, line 41, at end insert—

“(2A) Section 57 (entitlement of lone parents to income support etc) will come into force no earlier than 1 April 2013, and not before the implementation of universal credit.”

Page 109, line 4, at end insert—

“( ) any provision of Part 4 (personal independence payment) or of Part 9 of Schedule 14;”

Line 5, after “Commission” insert “and otherwise amend the Child Poverty Act 2010”