My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this debate. The House understands the importance of the conditionality framework, underpinned by reasonable requirements, in encouraging parents to return to work. Achieving full employment is a key ambition of this Government, one I believe that we all support. Great progress was made in the last Parliament to increase parental employment, particularly with lone parents. However, more can be done. A fifth of all workless households are lone-parent households and a quarter of workless households contain dependent children.
We know that children with working parents are less likely to be in poverty and benefit from increased life chances. Work is the best route out of poverty and
will ensure that children grow up in a stable environment where they are more likely to succeed. The Government believe that more can be done to support all parents with young children as they prepare for and look for work. This is why we are introducing this clause and increasing both Work Coach and childcare support. From April 2017, parents, including lone parents, claiming universal credit, as discussed, will be expected to look for work when their youngest child turns three, and to prepare for work when their youngest child turns two. I remind noble Lords that Clause 15 changes conditionality for all responsible carers of children aged three to four in universal credit. As the noble Baroness said, this applies to both lone parents and the lead carer in a couple.
Before I turn to the detail of the amendments, perhaps I may briefly set out some of the context within which this clause is being introduced. In terms of the wider welfare reforms, as we have heard, the Government are investing in an enhanced childcare offer that will see spending reach more than £6 billion by 2019-20, including the investment of more than £1 billion more a year by 2019-20 in free childcare places for two, three and four year-olds.
A number of noble Lords have expressed concerns about the capacity of the sector. We have already seen its capacity to grow in its ability to offer the additional places for two year-olds and fulfil the previous free childcare offer, so we are confident that it will be able to rise to the challenge and produce the quality childcare places that are needed. We have a number of consultations ongoing, including a review of early years funding, which is obviously a key issue for the sector. As I say, the consultations are ongoing so we do not have the results yet, but I can certainly look into giving noble Lords an update on where the deliberations have got to, because the Bill is currently in the other place.
Again, the additional 15 hours of free childcare is just one element of a more comprehensive menu of support, including the universal childcare element, which will cover up to 85% of eligible childcare costs from April 2016. This will be available for parents working any number of hours, unlike under tax credits where it is restricted to those working more than 16 hours. Under tax-free childcare, up to 2 million families could benefit. The Government are also committed to introducing the national living wage, with the rate forecast to rise to more than £9 an hour by 2020, which will mean a direct wage boost for 2.7 million low-paid workers. Of course, there is also the transformation that universal credit brings. It transforms the structural benefits system, ensuring that work pays by incentivising and smoothing the transition into work. It will support people in and out of work so that they can take up work, for no matter how few hours, safe in the knowledge that they will retain their financial safety net.
Universal credit also overhauls the conditionality framework. It removes the prescriptive requirements which mean that people claiming a certain benefit must take certain actions or lose their entitlement to financial support. Instead, people are allocated to a conditionality group according to their personal and household circumstances and earnings, and their capability. Where individuals have many different characteristics
and circumstances, they will always be allocated to the lowest intensity conditionality. For example, the parent of a disabled child who requires full-time care will be in the “no work-related requirements” group. Similarly, the parent of a three year-old who has been found to have limited capacity for work will be subject only to work preparation requirements. Furthermore, irrespective of the conditionality group, individuals will have requirements and the employment support they receive tailored to their own circumstances and capabilities. Work coaches can, for instance, switch off requirements entirely for a temporary period where a parent or their children are experiencing difficult circumstances. Now when parents are asked to look for or prepare for work, their requirements will be fully tailored to their circumstances, in contrast to the current rigid system.
Currently, parents claiming jobseeker’s allowance are required to be available for work and undertaking work-related activity for a minimum of 16 hours a week, or they risk losing their entitlement to benefit. In universal credit, there is no minimum requirement and work coaches have complete flexibility to set what is reasonable for each individual. For the first time, we will be supporting parents who are in low-paid work to earn more through in-work progression, where previously they may have been trapped in a cycle of low-paid jobs without any support. We know that developing a skilled workforce is key to realising the flexibilities that we have built into the legislative framework. We want to empower our work coaches to use this broad discretion to make sound decisions that are right for the individual in front of them. That is why we are investing heavily in learning and development for our front-line staff.
To achieve our ambition of providing the best and most efficient customer service, we are introducing a work coach delivery model to ensure that our people and organisation are structured to meet those needs now and in the future. This improves the quality of our work services support by placing the work coach role at the centre of future delivery, providing quality interventions. This approach also better deals with claimants as individuals or family units rather than by benefit. The model offers continuity to the claimant, allowing them to build a relationship with their work coach where they feel able to share their personal circumstances, resulting in appropriately tailored requirements which are achievable. It supports a personalised journey into work or helps to prepare them for work in the future.
To further support the introduction of universal credit and build the capability and professionalism of our work force, we are also implementing a work coach accreditation learning journey, which is in an initial proof-of-concept stage. It has 300 participants made up of work coaches and their line managers. The accreditation of staff will build up consistency across the workforce by having a clear standard of achievement within a framework that enables structured learning, timely intervention and public recognition of standards attained.
Accreditation also supports quality control, with work coaches receiving regular feedback at the time of the accreditation review from objective, informed, and
skilled line managers and external accreditors. In addition to the accreditation strategy, all work coaches will receive full training as part of the rollout of universal credit, and new guidance and learning products will be developed specifically for the implementation of this policy. I hope noble Lords can see that a lot of work has been done to ensure that the advice claimants get is of the highest quality, and tailored to their needs.
I know many noble Lords are concerned about the potential impacts of sanctions on parents as a direct result of this policy. I hope I have conveyed that our intention is not to penalise parents but to support them to find employment. Increasing conditionality and the employment support offered should not increase sanctions. Parents will be set reasonable and achievable requirements, which their work coaches will support them to meet. We have clear and transparent safeguards in place to protect people against sanctions where their requirements are unreasonable or they have a good reason not to meet them. However, that is not to say that sanctions should not play a role. Strong international evidence shows that benefits regimes tied to conditionality get people into work, and sanctions underpin this.
In response to an issue raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Manzoor, about sanctions starting at 13 weeks, that is not the case. Low-level sanctions are open-ended and are not set at 13 weeks. This means that a claimant can re-engage and end the sanction more quickly. Our principle is simple. Parents should be encouraged to undertake reasonable requirements around their childcare responsibilities, taking into account the childcare options available, however limited these may be. This will ensure that they do not lose touch with the labour market.
In relation to the specific amendments, Amendment 53A, moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Manzoor, specifies that,
“in preparing a claimant commitment … the Secretary of State shall have regard (as far as practicable)”,
to the impact of the content in the claimant commitment on the well-being of any child who may be affected by it.
As I have already described, through conversations with the individual work coaches, already set and agreed work-related activities are tailored for a broad range of circumstances, including for matters relating to the well-being of children. This is achievable through existing legislation and it would be unduly burdensome to set out this level of detail in primary legislation.
In relation to the findings of the Citizens Advice report that the noble Baronesses, Lady Manzoor and Lady Grey-Thompson, mentioned, we accept that it is early days in the delivery of universal credit, and it is a big cultural change for our staff. There have been mistakes and variation in performance. The important thing is that we continually test, learn and spot problems promptly. As I have set out, a lot of work is going on to ensure that the accreditation and quality in training for work coaches is of a high quality.
It would also not be fair only to prescribe that claimant commitments must contain information relating to the well-being of children. We do not take our responsibilities for the well-being of children lightly.
That is why the regulations also make clear the circumstances in which requirements should be limited, or even lifted entirely, for a temporary period. For example, Regulations 98 and 99 provide provisions for suspension of requirements where children may be in distress. These reasonable requirements, including any limiting or lifting and the reasons, are recorded within the claimant commitment.
Amendment 53B, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, seeks to exempt responsible carers of a child aged three and four from having requirements imposed where suitable and affordable childcare cannot be secured. We believe that is unnecessary in light of the flexibilities that I have talked about which universal credit provides. However, I can certainly assure the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, that the department is looking at childcare fitting in with individual requirements. It has been key to the passage of the Childcare Bill and the work that is going on. Parents will be able to use the new offer outside term time. The whole aim is to ensure that this offer is flexible so that parents can access childcare when they need it. As I said, the free childcare offer is not the only support available. Where childcare cannot be found, parents will not be required to do anything that they cannot fit around caring responsibilities.
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Amendment 53C, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Manzoor, would specify in regulations that the number of hours for work-related requirements expected of a responsible carer of a child aged under five must be compatible with the child’s entitlement to free early years provision. It also specifies that these expected hours must take account of the time needed to deliver the child to and pick them up from that childcare provision. As I have already described, work coaches will be able to tailor the expected number of hours. We do not believe that it would be right to define the expected hours in terms of the free childcare offer because it does not also take into account the full childcare offer available. We think that this definition could potentially exclude a broad spectrum of childcare available to parents. As the noble Baroness said, many use informal childcare, such as relatives.
Amendment 53D, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, and the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, proposes to duplicate safeguards that are already covered in Regulation 97. Work coaches already have full discretion to tailor the individual requirements placed on all claimants, not just responsible carers of young children. This includes travelling time to and from work with the focus again, as I said, on the quality of the advice being given and the training for work coaches. The noble Baroness raised concerns about this not happening in practice. That is why we are focusing so much on ensuring that training is available and that all claimants get the quality advice that they deserve.
Amendment 54, tabled by the noble Baronesses, Lady Sherlock and Lady Manzoor, and the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, focuses on single parents and seeks to make a blanket exemption from higher-level sanctions for single parents who cannot find suitable or affordable childcare, taking no account of the personal
circumstances of the individual parents. Through universal credit we have made a conscious decision to address the long-standing disparity between lone and partner benefit claimants. We do not want to single out lone parents. Rather, we want support to be tailored on an individual basis, not targeted at groups of people who may share one characteristic but, when you delve deeper, have very different support needs.
I of course recognise that suitability and affordability of local childcare may be an issue for some parents, but it would be extremely difficult to define what is meant by “suitable” or “affordable” and to cover the broad spectrum of childcare available to parents. That is why, as I said, work coaches have full discretion to tailor the individual requirements placed on parents. This is achievable through existing legislation and there is no need to exempt single parents from higher-level sanctions.
To clarify the circumstances where a higher-level sanction might apply, the individual would have to, for no good reason: fail to apply for a particular vacancy; fail to take up an offer of paid work; cease paid work voluntarily or through misconduct; or lose pay voluntarily or through misconduct. These are serious matters that should not be taken lightly. However, it is unlikely that many parents will find themselves in a situation where they might incur such a sanction.
Through discussions with the individual, work coaches will help to identify all barriers to work, understand the individual’s caring responsibilities for their child and the type of work-related requirements they are able to meet as a result. This will ensure that single parents should not be set unreasonable requirements. Setting reasonable and tailored requirements in this way means that parents should be able to meet them and therefore not face sanctions. As I said, the aim of this is not to increase the number of sanctions occurring. In the event that childcare is not identified as a problem or that arrangements fall through after requirements have been agreed, parents are able to alert their work coach before a referral to a sanction.
There are a number of safeguards in place, first and foremost to ensure that requirements set are reasonable. If a claimant does not consider that the work-related requirements in their claimant commitment are reasonable and reflect their circumstances, they can request a second opinion from a different work coach.
Where a sanction referral has been made, there are a number of steps to make sure that the decisions are correct. Independent decision-makers consider each case, including any evidence of good reason put forward by a claimant. All claimants can ask for the decision to be reconsidered and can appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal. A sanction will never be imposed if a claimant has good reason for failing to meet requirements.
Lack of appropriate and affordable childcare would count as a good reason for not having met any of these requirements. The types of things which count as good reason are made clear in the advice for decision-makers guidance, which is publicly available. As a result, we believe that this amendment is unnecessary.
Moving on to carers, Amendment 55, tabled by the noble Baronesses, Lady Meacher, Lady Pitkeathley, Lady Hollins, and Lady Manzoor, seeks to exempt
responsible carers of a disabled child from full conditionality. I know that everyone in this House agrees that carers provide invaluable support for relatives, partners and friends who may be ill or disabled. So do we, and that is why the conditionality framework in universal credit has been designed to ensure adequate protection. Universal credit already provides substantial safeguards and flexible support for all carers. Existing legislation is clear that those with caring responsibilities for a disabled person should not be subject to any conditionality. Therefore, I do not believe that the exemption or the new determination of disability is necessary. Most responsible carers of a disabled child aged three to four will not be subject to the conditionality that this clause introduces.
Those parents who receive the middle or highest rate of disability living allowance will be entitled to the carer element in universal credit and will fall into the “no conditionality” group, so would not be subject to any work-related requirements. The carer element supports carers on a low income who provide weekly care of 35 hours or more for a severely disabled person. This does not replace carer’s allowance, which will continue to exist as a separate benefit outside of universal credit. As the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, said, more than half of the children in receipt of disability living allowance aged under five receive the highest-rate care component and nearly the same proportion receive the middle rate. In total, around 51,000 out of 54,000 receive DLA at the highest or middle rate, and therefore I confirm that they will not be subject to the changes this clause introduces.
Concerns have been raised that it is difficult for parents of children under the age of five to demonstrate their child’s disability as part of the claims process to DLA. Current legislation does not specify that a parent applying for DLA on behalf of their child must provide supporting evidence of their child’s disability or health condition in addition to the application form.
In addition, the introduction of the mandatory reconsideration process means that decisions which are incorrect can be amended much more quickly. The number of appeals against DLA decisions has significantly dropped since the introduction of mandatory reconsideration, indicating that parents are able to access the support they need. And, for the purposes of conditionality, if a parent is the carer of a child awaiting assessment, they will be placed in the “no work-related requirements” group and will not be subject to any requirements. For those not entitled to the carer element, different levels of conditionality may apply. I will not go into those as I think that I have talked for too long, but I am happy to provide further information. Noble Lords did say that they wanted more information.
I move to Amendment 56.