My Lords, Amendment 10 heads up a group of amendments on social security which I will introduce, focusing on those in my name.
When I originally tabled them in Committee, I wanted to draw attention to the myriad ways in which the social security system undermines this Bill, particularly its very welcome inclusion of economic abuse. I and other noble Lords gave examples of how the social security system is letting down victims and survivors at every stage of the domestic abuse journey. I had hoped in response for some recognition from the Government of the tensions that exist between social security and domestic abuse policy, but no, so in light of this and the disappointment voiced by Refuge and Women’s Aid, to whom I pay tribute for their work and thank for their help, I decided that there was a case for revisiting these issues on Report. I am grateful to noble Lords who have signed the amendment.
I will not repeat the general case for why it is so important that social security policy supports rather than undermines domestic abuse policy, which underpins Amendment 68. This would require an impact assessment of any future social security reforms on domestic abuse victims and has been welcomed by the domestic
abuse commissioner designate. In response to the amendment in Committee, the Minister pointed out that:
“The DWP is already obliged to consider the impacts of its policies through equality assessments, in accordance with the public sector equality duty.” —[Official Report, 27/1/21; col. 1703]
However, as this was the response given in the Commons, I had already explained that DWP equality impact assessments are very limited from a gender perspective and do nothing to assess, for instance, the impact on who in a couple controls resources, on the financial security and autonomy each enjoys, or on the ability to escape an abusive relationship. If the Government are serious about treating domestic abuse as a
“whole of government issue and response”, —[Official Report, 27/1/21; col. 1700]
as the Minister claimed, then it surely makes sense to carry out such an impact assessment at the design stage of social security reform.
Two other issues that I raised in this context were the training of jobcentre staff and the treatment of panic rooms in sanctuary schemes. On training, I very much appreciate the Minister’s helpful letter. I have shared it with Women’s Aid, which was involved in the early stages of the training and is very positive about aspects of it. However, there remain unresolved concerns and I would be grateful if the Minister could ask that the appropriate DWP Minister meet with Women’s Aid to discuss them.
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With regard to the European Court of Human Rights ruling that the removal of the spare room subsidy—AKA the bedroom tax—unlawfully discriminates against victims of domestic abuse with a panic room, the Minister responded that the Government recognise the important role played by the sanctuary scheme
“in a victim’s long-term safety and well-being”,
and that:
“Work is under way to establish what steps are necessary to support claimants”—[Official Report, 27/1/21; col. 1703.]
in such schemes who are affected by the bedroom tax. In the meantime, government guidance to local authorities recommends that they take this into consideration when deciding whether to award a discretionary housing payment.
However, why is it taking so long to implement a judgment made in October 2019? If the application of the bedroom tax in such cases is unlawful, is not the answer to stop applying it? The obvious mechanism for doing so is Regulation B13 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, which is how the Government resolved unlawful discrimination with regard to the bedroom tax in relation to disability.
Discretionary housing payments are inherently unsatisfactory because, as the name makes clear, they are discretionary and do not afford domestic abuse survivors the confidence given by a clear right. This is a clear example of how a social security policy change has had a specific and negative impact on survivors of domestic abuse, which could have been prevented if a proper impact assessment of such policies on survivors had been undertaken before it was made. The issue has
been pursued with the Secretary of State, but there is still no action. Will the Minister undertake to raise this with the Secretary of State herself?
Amendment 10 also exemplifies why we need a domestic abuse-sensitive impact assessment of new social security measures. It would require the domestic abuse commissioner to investigate the payment of universal credit separately to members of a couple and to lay a report before Parliament. I will not repeat the arguments made in Committee, but I note the recent call of the Women and Equalities Committee for urgent research into the gendered impact of UC design, including the single household payment structure, having argued that it
“creates risks for women’s financial independence, which can have severe consequences for women in abusive relationships.”
In Committee, the Minister made much of the argument that it would not be appropriate to mandate the commissioner in this way, as it is for her to set her own priorities. Yet the commissioner herself has welcomed this amendment, while understandably also looking to a government commitment to provide the necessary resources to undertake it. Moreover, the Government have required the commissioner designate to map community-based services, now enshrined in government Amendment 17, and presumably did not consider that that impinged on her independence, so I hope that we will not hear that argument today. I will respond to the Minister’s other arguments in the order that they were made.
First, the Minister pointed out that for many legacy benefits, payment is already made to one household member and that, therefore, the UC model is not new. But what is new is that, whereas before different benefits might have gone to different members of a couple, UC rolls up six benefits in one. This increases the risk of financial abuse and is why it has only now become such an issue. She then argued that most couples
“keep and manage their finances together”—[Official Report, 27/1/21; col. 1700.]
and therefore do not want state intervention in the joint management of their finances. But research into household finances indicates that the realities of management, power and control in ostensibly joint finances are far more complex than that statement suggests. Moreover, as the Economic Affairs Committee pointed out, payment into a single account does not in fact
“reflect reality for many families today, who are used to both partners having their own income”,
which is important
“for reducing the risks of financial coercion and domestic abuse more widely and for encouraging more balanced and equal relationships.”
The implication of the Minister’s statement is that we are talking about only a small group. But, unfortunately, financial abuse is all too common and she herself acknowledged elsewhere in Committee that:
“As we all know, domestic abuse is widespread”.—[Official Report, 8/2/21; col. 100.]
As for state intervention, the current default position of joint payments itself represents state intervention.
What I find depressing is that in arguing that
“it is important that we allow the individual experiencing domestic abuse to decide whether split payments will help their individual circumstances”—[Official Report, 27/1/21; col. 1700.]
the Minister simply ignored the points made by myself and others, as well as domestic abuse organisations on the ground, that to put the onus on the individual victim in this way is to open them up to considerable risk. If she were in this situation, would she feel safe asking for a split payment in the knowledge that her partner would quickly work out why his payment had been reduced, potentially leading to frightening repercussions? Indeed, the DWP’s own operational guidance acknowledges this risk. Yes, messaging to encourage payment into the main carer’s account has been a welcome step but it is not seen as the answer by those on the ground and does not help those without children.
The Minister then raised a number of issues and practical challenges that would need to be addressed in a system of default separate payments. That is exactly why we need an in-depth, independent investigation of the kind envisaged in this amendment. If the Government genuinely wanted to achieve the best outcome for victims and survivors, they would embrace this amendment with open arms in the same way that the commissioner-designate has done.
Turning to Amendment 69, I start with a mea culpa. To my horror I realised too late that I had tabled the wrong amendment in Committee, and I apologise to the Minister for that. As originally intended, this amendment would exempt domestic abuse survivors from having to repay any benefit advance to protect them from having to wait at least five weeks for their first payment.
As anticipated, the Minister responded that this would
“raise equality concerns and lead to calls for the measure’s extension to other groups.”—[Official Report, 27/1/21; col. 1702.]
But the existence of the special job search easement for domestic abuse survivors demonstrates the scope for exemptions for this group, and to my knowledge it has not led to such calls. The particular vulnerability domestic abuse survivors face at the point of claiming surely justifies their exemption from repaying the advance.
Typically, survivors of economic abuse already carry significant debt and the last thing they want is to then become indebted to the DWP, even taking into account the welcome relaxation of the repayment rules mentioned by the Minister and now brought forward in the Budget. Yet the noble Baroness totally failed to address this point. If she had left an abuser, with few possessions and in debt, would she really want to sign up to a further DWP debt? Because debt it is, even if interest-free.
Concerns about fraud are addressed by the amendment which sets out the evidence that would be required to prove domestic abuse, with reference to the legal aid requirements. I take the Minister’s point that this could delay payment, which is the very opposite of what is wanted, but surely it would be possible to make an emergency payment, making it clear that evidence would be required to confirm it.
I will leave it to the noble Lord, Lord Best, to introduce Amendment 72, which would mitigate the impact of the benefit cap on domestic abuse survivors. I am grateful to him and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester for taking this amendment
forward and to DWP officials and Ministers who met with us after Committee. I hope we can find a resolution to this important issue.
In conclusion, while I welcome the Minister’s assurance that the Home Office has regular discussions with the DWP, there is no evidence that this has had any effect. If nothing else, I hope this debate will encourage a more critical engagement with the DWP and that the arguments put forward here will be shared with it. It is so sad if, having taken the pioneering step to include economic abuse in this Bill, such abuse is then perpetuated by the Government’s own social security policies. It is an issue raised time and again by organisations on the ground.
As the Minister herself said in Committee,
‘economic hardship should not be a barrier to someone leaving an abusive partner’.”—[Official Report, 1/2/21; col. 2010.]
Yet it is a barrier, thanks in large part to current social security policy. I quote a survivor of economic abuse, whose situation was highlighted in a recent online article:
“All of society—the police, the benefits system, the courts—are missing the simple fact that the massive reason that most victims cannot leave their abuser is because of finances, especially when children are involved. Money is your escape, it’s your way out. I really don’t know where I’d be without universal credit. That’s why I want to raise awareness and talk about how it needs to be easier to access. I know how hard it is to access support when you're so traumatised by what’s happening that waking up every day and looking after your children is hard enough already.”
These amendments would help to make life easier for women in this situation— women whom we must remember on International Women’s Day.