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Government Bills 2006/07 - enacted

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Welfare Reform Act


Key Benefits

Extended advice and support for individuals with health conditions to enable them to realise their ambition to return to work.

Simplifies the benefits system for those whose health affects their capacity for work, with a more constructive benefit assessment that considers the help they need to manage their condition and return to work.

Reform of housing benefit:

To make it easier for people to move into work, help speed up local authority administration of Housing Benefit, promote greater choice and responsibility for tenants, promote financial inclusion and help the fight against benefit fraud.

Paves the way for a new Local Housing Allowance across the private rented sector.

Provides powers to refuse housing benefit for those evicted for anti-social behaviour who refuse to engage with provision for rehabilitation.

Gives local authorities the power to investigate and prosecute benefit fraud.

The Act also contains smaller measures to amend the current benefit system.
Act of Parliament
Explanatory Notes
Regulatory Impact assessment
Territorial Extent
United Kingdom

Additional Information

This Bill was carried over from the previous Session 2005/06 under House of Commons Standing Order 80A on the 16th November 2006. The Bill originally had its first reading on the 4th July 2006, its second reading on the 24th July 2006, and was given Royal Assent on 3 May 2007.

The key measures build on the proposals in the Green Paper A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work (Cm 6730, January 2006) and the housing benefit reform programme as set out in 'The Housing Green Paper - Quality and Choice: A Decent home for All' April 2000 and in 'Building Choice and Responsibility: A Radical Agenda for Housing Benefit' October 2002.

Comments

If you have any comments on the proposals you can email them to:

peter.haley@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Department for Work and Pensions

House of Commons Library Research Paper on the Bill

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