This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-politics-16675314

The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Welfare reform: Lords bid for benefits cap concessions Welfare reform: Lords bid for benefits cap concessions
(about 1 hour later)
Church of England bishops and Liberal Democrat peers will join to try to win concessions when the House of Lords votes later on a benefits cap. Peers will press for changes to government plans for a cap on benefits families can receive when the measure is debated in the House of Lords later.
Ministers are proposing an annual limit on benefits of £26,000 for households in England, Scotland and Wales. Church of England bishops and some Liberal Democrats will push for child benefit to be excluded from the cap - so as not to penalise large families.
Opponents claim children, especially from big families, could suffer when the changes come into effect in 2013. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith says there are already exemptions for disabled people and those in work.
The government believes a cap on benefits would save money and create a fairer welfare system. The £26,000-a-year cap would affect England, Scotland and Wales from 2013.
But not everyone on the coalition side agrees, so there are suggestions of compromise and concessions.
Average incomeAverage income
More detail is expected to emerge soon about "transitional arrangements" that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has promised to secure to help those affected by the changes. The government estimates about 50,000 households would be affected by the cap on working-age benefits - which would be £500 a week, equivalent to the average wage earned by working households after tax.
It has been estimated that about 50,000 families could lose out. Mr Duncan Smith said most of those affected were people who had never worked - and have no incentive to do so because they are living in expensive properties which they would have to move out of, if they lost their housing benefit entitlement.
Labour has said it will not vote against the cap but it is likely to propose that vulnerable adults and families with children facing homelessness should not be bound by the change. He rejected suggestions children could be pushed into poverty by the cap - saying that assumed families would not move house.
Housing Minister Grant Shapps said the system needed to change because it was out of control. And he denied that some families would be left homeless, saying there was "no reason" why a family on £26,000 a year would not be able to find suitable accommodation.
"Benefits have to be fair, not just for the people receiving them," he said. 'Extraordinary argument'
"It's absolutely right we have that safety net for the most vulnerable people. But I think they have to be fair for the rest of the taxpayers who are funding this multi-billion system. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer, has put down an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill that would exclude child benefit from the overall cap.
"It can't be right to say if you are in receipt of benefit you can live above average in terms of the amount of income that you get, more than the average person working. He said: "Child benefit is a universal benefit. I believe that it's wrong to see it as being a welfare benefit. It's a benefit which is there for all children, for the bringing up of all children and to say that the only people who cannot have child benefit are those whose welfare benefits have been capped seems to me to be a quite extraordinary argument."
"So we're simply saying there should be a benefit cap which is at the average salary." And the former Bishop of Hulme, the Right Reverend Stephen Lowe, told the BBC that some parents "perhaps are not particularly capable of working" but had large families.
While defending the plans, Employment Minister Chris Grayling conceded that some people would be forced to move home because they would receive reduced benefits.
He said they would have to move to an area they could afford.
'Child poverty'
The former Bishop of Hulme, the Right Reverend Stephen Lowe, told the BBC that capping housing benefit could make children suffer.
He said: "We have got some families, quite a large number of families I am sad to say, where neither parent is working. They perhaps are not particularly capable of working. They have large families.
"At the moment, this policy is making no allowance for them.
"The fact that child benefit, which is meant to be attached to the number of children, is being discounted in relation to this particular £26,000 is actually going to damage those children's welfare and put potentially another 100,000 children into poverty.""The fact that child benefit, which is meant to be attached to the number of children, is being discounted in relation to this particular £26,000 is actually going to damage those children's welfare and put potentially another 100,000 children into poverty."
Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown has said he will vote against the coalition's plans for a benefits cap. But Mr Duncan Smith said excluding child benefit would make the cap "pointless" - as it would raise the amount families could receive to an average of about £50,000 a year. He said he wanted to be "fair" to taxpayers on low wages, who were supporting families in homes they themselves could not afford.
The peer said he could not back the proposal without measures to cushion the impact on those affected. He has admitted his plans could face defeat in the Lords on Monday.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has urged those opposed to aspects of the cap, including leading bishops, to think about those who pay taxes while some unemployed people live in large houses at public expense. He told the BBC: "We have a year before this comes in. We now know exactly which families [the cap will affect], what their size is, where they live.
Lords test "It's not about punishing them. It's about saying 'Look, if you live in a house that you couldn't afford if you were in work, then you're disincentivised from taking work'.
Mr Duncan Smith admitted his plans for a cap on working-age benefits of £500 a week or £26,000 a year - equivalent to the average wage earned by working households after tax - could face defeat in the Lords on Monday. "We want people to find work. We want them to be in work."
He told BBC Breakfast: "We have a year before this comes in. We now know exactly which families [the cap will affect] what their size is, where they live. Mr Duncan Smith also said the public was "overwhelmingly in favour" of the cap.
"It's not about punishing them, it's about saying - look, if you live in a house that you couldn't afford if you were in work, then you're disincentivised from taking work. But he said there could be some "transitional arrangements" to help those families affected, in the year before it comes in.
"We want people to find work, we want them to be in work." Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown has said he will vote against the coalition's plans for a benefits cap, unless there are measures to cushion the impact on those affected.
Mr Duncan Smith also said that the public is "overwhelmingly in favour" of the cap, adding that "even Labour and Liberal voters are overwhelmingly in favour of fairness to the taxpayer as well as fairness to the benefit recipient". Labour has said it will not vote against the cap but it is likely to propose that vulnerable adults and families with children facing homelessness should not be bound by the change.
Peers have already inflicted a series of defeats on the government's flagship Welfare Reform Bill but ministers say they are determined to get key changes through Parliament.Peers have already inflicted a series of defeats on the government's flagship Welfare Reform Bill but ministers say they are determined to get key changes through Parliament.
The changes would affect England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own social security legislation, but it is expected that what is approved at Westminster will likely be introduced there as well. The changes would affect England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own social security legislation, but it is expected that what is approved at Westminster will be introduced there too.
A small number of provisions will apply directly to Northern Ireland, regarding the abolition of benefits, state pension credit, tax fraud investigation and information sharing about tax fraud.A small number of provisions will apply directly to Northern Ireland, regarding the abolition of benefits, state pension credit, tax fraud investigation and information sharing about tax fraud.
What do you think of the planned cap? Would you be affected by the proposed limit on benefits for households? You can send us your views and experiences using the form below.What do you think of the planned cap? Would you be affected by the proposed limit on benefits for households? You can send us your views and experiences using the form below.