Guernsey Press

ESS president seeks to dispel ‘a number of myths about benefits’

THE POLITICIAN in charge of Guernsey’s welfare system has said she wants to dispel a number of myths about benefits.

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Pic by Adrian Miller 05-11-19.Deputy Michelle Le Clerc. (26320599)

Deputy Michelle Le Clerc, the president of Employment & Social Security, told the States Assembly that the majority of the poorest families in receipt of benefits have at least one working family member. It came up during the debate on a policy letter that included the proposal to increase the benefits cap on households from £750 to £850 a week.

Earlier, Deputy David De Lisle had pointed out that this amounted to £44,200 a year, which was more than the island’s average salary, and nearly double the benefits cap in London.

Deputy Barry Paint had questioned whether the benefits cap was too generous and whether the best way for people to escape long-term poverty was to get a job.

Some 130 families with more than 470 children have been identified by ESS staff as affected by the benefits cap, and are said to be living in ‘intolerable poverty’.

In setting out her committee’s policy letter, Deputy Le Clerc wanted to set the matter straight.

She said most families currently restricted by the benefits cap were hard-working families on low wages.

‘We have to battle endlessly against a misconception that we’re paying £750 per week to lots of families, but in fact it is very rare.

‘The great majority of families have earnings or benefits of other kinds, income support is topping up these other sources of income, up to the limit set by the States, and I ask States members to take note that 97 of the 130 households currently capped by the benefit limitation have at least one working parent.’

Deputy Le Clerc also tried to bust a fallacy that living on benefits was a comfortable lifestyle.

‘At the moment, parents are being forced to decide whether they feed their children or pay their rent, and we wonder why rent arrears are on the increase.’

In a letter the Policy & Resources committee noted the ‘substantial increase’ in the benefit limitation, and raised a question mark over whether it could be funded.

However, in the prior Budget debate the Assembly found a funding source through a significant increase in commercial property rates.

After four days of debating the Budget, the ESS policy letter came round late on Friday evening.

ESS committee member Deputy Emilie McSwiggan proposed a guillotine motion to cut debate and get straight to the vote, and she was successful by 15 votes to 14.

The final vote on the policy letter was 29 votes in favour, and Deputy David De Lisle was the sole vote against.

Fellow ESS member Deputy John Gollop said on Twitter that Deputy McSwiggan’s move was a ‘procedural brainwave which effectively guillotines and filibusters right of centre criticism of benefit limits and the populist view of welfare’.

‘We, by a majority, suppressed their voice and right to speak.’

Read the opinion column on Page 14 of today's Guernsey Press.