Select committee: Treasury Committee
Conclusion 2
Eighth Report - Autumn Statement 2022 – Cost of living payments
Published 14 Dec 2022
Paragraph 22
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee Autumn 2022 Fiscal Events All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Government provision of additional support to those on low incomes through one-off payments presents a problem of cliff-edges to that support. If someone doesn’t match the criteria required of the means-tested benefits, both in terms of income and the time they are being assessed for eligibility, they will not receive this significant lump sum support when a very similar household may do so. That appears unfair. It may also create a disincentive to work, as it may be in someone’s interests to reduce their hours at key periods to ensure their eligibility for the benefit at the required time.
From: Treasury Committee, Eighth Report - Autumn Statement 2022 – Cost of living payments (HC 740), paragraph 22, 14 December 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 February 2023 (deadline 14 February 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government declines to adopt the Committee's recommendation to mirror the Energy Bill Support Scheme payments model, while setting out that it has already moved to three means-tested Cost of Living Payments in 2023-24 and provides existing analysis in place of some further analysis requested.
- On more payments, the Government says it "did consider" more lump sums and announced on 3 January 2023 that the £900 payment for means-tested benefit claimants will be delivered in three payments (Spring 2023, Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024).
- It does not accept monthly payments, saying DWP's 'Ad Hoc Payment System' makes it "not possible" to pay monthly for six months "without compromising delivery of DWP’s core benefits".
- On analysis of the Household Support Fund's impact, it says this is "not possible" in the distributional analysis because Management Information lacks sufficient detail, but HM Treasury "will consider what data becomes available" as a matter of routine.
- On work incentives, it says qualifying dates will be announced after they have passed, to "deter fraud and to mitigate risks to work incentives", and that a taper would be "extremely complex and potentially costly".