Member

My noble friend asked whether we can move to a shorter timeframe. Inevitably, things are always more complicated when one is in government. It is worth saying that the Government begin programming the IT systems for the new rates for the following April in November. Using a shorter timeframe could only ever be achieved for universal credit, not across all benefits, because the systems are different. I will take this idea back and we will keep looking at it, but one of the challenges is the number of interdependencies. For example, we are quite dependent on data going to and from DWP, but also housing benefit for pensioners, and HMRC for calculation of 12 million tax notices. These interdependencies mean that it is never quite as straightforward as one hoped, but I take note of her aspiration and I will keep conversations going on that.