Social Security Benefits

Question

The Government has sympathy for the women who suffered by their admission to and work in the Magdalen institutions. However, payments made under the Republic of Ireland’s ex gratia scheme do not meet GB legal criteria to be treated as personal injury payments. The payments are not being made ‘in consequence of any personal injury’, but are made in consequence of being admitted to a laundry, regardless of the effects. The amount each woman will receive is dependent on the length of time spent in the laundries and not on the specific effect that it has had on their health. They are also being made as part of a broader process of restorative justice by the Republic of Ireland Government.

The Government has no plans to amend GB income-related benefit legislation to include specific disregards along the lines of the schemes mentioned. There is already provision in the benefit system to disregard payments made in respect of personal injury to avoid the need to disregard specific payments on an ad hoc basis. To amend legislation as new compensation schemes are introduced would add complexity to the benefit system and its administration.

There is already provision in legislation to disregard some elements of the ex gratia payments. For example, Pension Credit – the income-related benefit most likely to be claimed - has no capital cut off limit. Where compensation in excess of the €50,000 lump sum maximum ex gratia award is payable as weekly payments, these will be disregarded under current Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit legislation.

We understand that as of 6 August 2014 there had been a total number of approximately 760 applications to the scheme, around 160 of which were from UK residents. However, neither information regarding the number of UK applicants who are also in receipt of Pension Credit or other benefits, nor the amount of any ex gratia payments made is available. We are therefore unable to estimate the potential cost of a disregard.