Author: Great Britain. Social Security Advisory CommitteePublisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780101746922
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 88
Book Description
The proposed regulations would reduce the time for claiming Pension Credit and Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit for those who have attained the qualifying age for Pension Credit, from 12 to 3 months, and reduce the period for which claims to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (HB/CTB) for customers of working age may be backdated, from 52 weeks to 3 months. The regulations also proposed to extend the period for which Pension Credit customers may retain entitlement whilst temporarily absent from Great Britain from 4 to 13 weeks. The Department for Work and Pensions aims to save £260 million by these changes, and to make the administration of the benefits more efficient. The Committee broadly welcomes the changes to the rules on temporary absence abroad, but is not convinced of the case to generate savings by reducing entitlement to HB and CTB and Pension Credit for some of the Department's most vulnerable and excluded customers. The changes will increase indebtedness and evictions, and the Committee believes the economic cost of increased possession proceedings (including the costs of re-housing and other services) have not been factored into the Department's calculations.
