Welfare

Spokesperson: Billy Lake (billy.lake@liverpool.gov.uk)

  • Basic Income:  
    • £500 per month (£125 per week). 
    • Would be available to all UK citizens and legally resident non-citizens (who aren’t entitled to claim from another country).  
    • Only applicable to those earning less than £50,250.  
    • Any adults with dependent children would only be able to claim for up to three children. (Proof of child would have to be required) 
    • Must be 16 or above and below the state pension age.
    • Low Pay Commission will be mandated with advising on the optimum rate for a Basic Income. 

Every eligible citizens would have a choice:

a) Claim the personal allowance of £20,000 (and NOT be entitled to the basic income), or
b) Claim the Basic Income of £125 per week (and NOT be entitled to the personal allowance). 

  • Welfare would be capped at £18,000 (including basic income, disability benefit and housing benefit), less than the £20,000 (Personal Tax Threshold) for an individual: 
    • There would be a £2000 supplement only for discretionary purposes to bring it up to £20,000 (Personal Tax Threshold). 

  • Replace the Department for Work and Pensions with a Department for Welfare. 
  • Scrap Universal Credit and all other subsequent benefits apart from Disability Benefits and Housing Benefit:

Disability Benefits 

  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will replace Disability Living Allowance. 

  • Daily Living Part will replace Mobility Part and would be set at a flat rate of £125 per week and thus would be subject to rigorous testing to prevent benefit fraud. 

  • Would be available to all UK citizens and legally resident non-citizens (who aren’t entitled to claim from another country).

Housing Benefit 

  • Only applicable to those out of work and thus actively looking for a job. 

  • Housing Benefit will be devolved to each County Council to administer and would be capped at £500 per month. 

  • Would be available to all UK citizens and legally resident non-citizens (who aren’t entitled to claim from another country). 

Child Care 

  • All children aged 2, 3, 4 & 5 – means tested, will qualify for up to 35 hours a week, 48 weeks a year of free childcare: 
    • The party will also increase the funding for these free hours to cover the actual cost of nursery provision.
    • Would only be applicable to anyone earning less than £50,250. 

  • Restore over 1,240 Sure Start centres cut as a result of Tory austerity since 2010. 

Pensions 

  • The retirement age would be set at 65 for both men and women. 

  • Bring the current State Pension rate of £9,627.8 (£185.15 per week) to at least a minimum of 12k (£250 per week) a year.

    • Maintain Pensioner Benefits: 
      1) Heating benefits (100% off energy bills) 
      2) Public transport concessions (free Rail and Bus Travel England-wide) 
      3) Housing Benefit (£500 cap) 
      4) TV licence concessions (100% off subscription to the BBC) 
      5) Council Tax Support (exemption for those unable to pay) 
      6) Help with urgent or one-off expenses via a loan. 
    • Benefits would be means tested and would only be applicable to those with savings  less than the £20,000 (Personal Tax Threshold), recipients without a private pension pot and pensioners who live permanently in the UK. 

  • Retain the Triple Lock on the basic state pension. In addition, ensure that the women born in the 1950s are properly compensated for the failure of the government to properly notify them of changes to the state pension age, in line with the recommendations of the parliamentary ombudsman.

  • Reform of The Pension Lifetime Allowance – we will bring the tax rules on Defined Benefit Schemes into line with those on Defined Contribution pensions: 
    • Workplace pensions should automatically be operated on the basis of opt-in to reduce excessive admin. 

  • Set the single rate of pension tax relief at 20%. 

  • 25% of all new pension contribution money will go into investments that fund the transition to net-zero.