Local welfare safety net inquiry launched
16 November 2015
The Work and Pensions Committee holds an inquiry into the "local welfare safety net"— local authority-run discretionary welfare assistance, housing payment and Council Tax support schemes.
- Watch Parliament TV: Local welfare safety net
- Inquiry: Local welfare safety net
- Work and Pensions Committee
Witnesses
Wednesday 18 November 2015, Wilson Room, Portcullis House
At 9.30am
- Giles Peaker, Chair, Housing Law Practitioners Association
- Dr Peter Kenway, Director, New Policy Institute
- Paul Gray CB, Chair, Social Security Advisory Committee
- Paul Howarth, Director, Welfare Reform Club
At 10.15am
- Rachael Badger, Head of Policy Research, Citizens Advice
- David Holmes CBE, Chief Executive, Family Action
- Francis McGee, Director of External Affairs, Stepchange Debt Charity
- Joanna Kennedy, Chief Executive, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust
Purpose of the session
This is the first of two evidence sessions in the inquiry. The Committee hears from academic, legal and policy experts on the opportunities and risks of localised welfare schemes and the extent to which their discretionary nature is indicative of a "postcode lottery". Welfare rights, advice and support organisations provide evidence on how the schemes are delivered locally and the impacts on claimants.
Further information
Image: PA