Benefits policy
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on Social Security benefits policy. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 07.02.2013 | Draft Universal Credit Regulations 2013 |
| Starting in selected 'Pathfinder' areas from April 2013, Universal Credit (UC) will begin to replace a range of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working age families. The Draft Universal Credit Regulations set out the detailed rules for the new benefit. | |
| 07.02.2013 | The housing element of Universal Credit |
| This note highlights some of the key differences between the current Housing Benefit system and the housing element of Universal Credit. | |
| 28.01.2013 | Draft Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 |
| Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people of working age, starting from April 2013. Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 provides the framework for PIP, but the detailed rules for the new benefit - including the assessment criteria - are to be set out in regulations. | |
| 19.12.2012 | 2013 Benefit Uprating |
| State pension, benefits and tax credits increase in April 2013 - this note sets out how the new rates are calculated | |
| 07.12.2012 | Housing Benefit reform - supported housing |
| This paper explains the Government's proposals for the reform of Housing Benefit for residents in supported housing and includes a summary of early responses to the proposals. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 04.01.2013 | Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill |
| 01.11.2012 | European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill [Bill 76 of 2012-13] |
| Croatia is expected to join the EU in July 2013. This Bill would allow the UK to ratify Croatia's accession treaty and would also cover the Protocol to the Lisbon Treaty put forward by the Irish Government. | |
| 08.06.2011 | Welfare Reform Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. It complements Research Papers 11/23 and 11/24, prepared for the Commons Second Reading debate. | |
| 04.03.2011 | Welfare Reform Bill: reform of disability benefits, Housing Benefit, and other measures |
| This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. For information on the provision in the Bill relating to the introduction of Universal Credit, please see the complementary Library Research Paper, 11/24. Besides Universal Credit, the Bill proposes a number of other significant welfare reforms, including replacement of the current Disability Living Allowance, restriction of Housing Benefit entitlement to social housing tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need, time-limiting the payment of contributory Employment and Support Allowance to twelve months, and capping the total amount of benefit that can be claimed. | |
| 13.03.2009 | Welfare Reform Bill: Committee Stage report |
| This is a report on the Committee Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. It complements Research Papers 09/08 and 09/09 prepared for Commons Second Reading. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 16.01.2012 | Government response to the fifth report of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee on |
| Government response. Communities and Local Government Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 15.12.2010 | Treasury Minutes on the the Public Accounts Committee, first and second reports of session 2010-11 (HC... |
| Government response. Public Accounts Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 17.11.2010 | INDEXATION OF PENSIONS AND BENEFITS |
| That this House notes the Government's proposal to use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Price Index (RPI) for the price indexation of benefits, tax credits and ... | |
| 17.11.2010 | MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY CAMPAIGN COST OF LIVING WITH MUSCLE DISEASE REPORT |
| That this House welcomes a new report by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, The Cost of Living with Muscle Disease, which highlights the extreme financial hardship faced by many families ... | |
| 04.11.2010 | WINTER FUEL ALLOWANCE AND BRITISH CITIZENS LIVING ABROAD |
| That this House notes that British citizens living in Spain can claim the winter fuel allowance; believes this defeats the point of the winter fuel allowance; and calls on the Government ... | |
| 02.11.2010 | EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCES |
| That this House expresses deep concern over the sudden, unexpected announcement of the removal of education maintenance allowances (EMAs) from 16 to 19 year olds; notes that EMAs have ... | |
| 15.07.2010 | REPORTING OF FRAUD |
| That this House notes that there are multiple bodies to which fraud may be reported but that it is unclear which body should be approached in any particular circumstance; believes that ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 06.02.2013 | Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill (HL Bill 78 of 2012-13) |
| The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill implements an announcement by the Chancellor in the 2012 Autumn Statement that increases in certain working-age welfare benefits and tax credits would be limited to 1 percent, rather than increasing them in line with inflation. This Library Note is intended to provide background information in advance of the Bill's second reading in the House of Lords on 11 February 2013. |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 25.10.2012 | Mental Health and the Workplace |
| This note summarises how the workplace affects mental health and vice versa. |
