Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 13th October 2020 Grand Committee

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

My Lords, I add my words of welcome to the noble Lord, Lord Field of Birkenhead, and the noble Baroness, Lady Stuart of Edgbaston, and look forward to their maiden speeches.

I welcome the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill. Pension credits are vital for the welfare of low-income retirees and it is right that measures are taken to support them in this challenging time. However, there is certainly scope for going further. Accusations relating to intergenerational fairness are not entirely unfounded. While I am for uprating the basic state pension, providing a guaranteed rise of 2.5% at a time when millions have lost income due to the pandemic, I realise that it will raise questions over whether this Government represent the entire country or just those who are older.

As other noble Lords have mentioned, the situation is perilous for those on the breadline. The Government’s failure to guarantee the permanence of the April 2020 universal credit uplift will be devastating for those formerly employed and now relying on universal credit. Across the country, arrears are building up, and immediate action will be required to prevent low-income families being burdened with unrealistic debt.

While the pandemic has affected everybody, when it comes to income, it is not retirees but low working-age households that have been most affected, whether through cuts in income or redundancy and rising living costs. I hope that the Government make the right decisions and stay true to their levelling-up agenda by being a national Government who choose to represent all age demographics.

Faith groups have been working hard to raise awareness of the financial difficulties endured across the country. For example, the recent Reset the Debt report by a coalition of four national Christian denominations drew attention to the increasingly unstable position that those made redundant due to Covid-19 now find themselves in, with many through no fault of their own sliding into debt spirals and homelessness. Their call to reset the debt through a Jubilee fund is the sort of innovative policy required so not to condemn generations to imposed poverty. I join my Church of England colleagues, the right reverend Prelates the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Portsmouth, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in its “keep the lifeline” campaign in urging the Government to make permanent the universal credit uplift that occurred in April this year.

I understand that difficult economic decisions will need to be made. However, given the uncertainty that we face, cutting back on economic support before the crisis is over will only exacerbate the situation and do so quickly. The Treasury has been taking bold decisions and will need to take more that will entail spending additional revenue in the short term to give those chances on the line a chance in the long run.