Alan Brown
Main Page: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)Department Debates - View all Alan Brown's debates with the Leader of the House
(1 year, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Gentleman will be more familiar than most with what my party has done to improve the welfare system. We are the party that has introduced the triple lock and ensured that we have a modern welfare system, and the amount of benefits going to particular groups—we mentioned those with mental health issues earlier—is vastly improved from when we took office. I point him to our record, with which he will be very familiar, because he helped us deliver some of it. He should wait for 31 October.
Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)
A constituent contacted me about the high income child benefit charge. Because he now earns more than £50,000 a year, he is liable to start paying that charge. He is not trying to get more money for himself, but he has contacted me because he sees how profoundly unfair the system is at the moment because it is based on one person earning over £50,000 triggering the charge. That means that a household where a single parent earns more than £50,000 pays the charge, but a household where two people earn £50,000 each, making a combined income of £100,000, gets the full child benefit payments. Will the Government provide a statement about a review into how this system operates? Can payments be calculated on the basis of joint household income, rather than one person’s income triggering the charge? That could even be done on a revenue-neutral basis, covering a black hole in the Government’s finances.
Penny Mordaunt
I will certainly write to the Department with the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion. Of course, the Scottish Government will also have powers relating to welfare if they wish to do anything in the meantime.