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Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2007

That is indeed quite a long time. There would obviously be an issue of balance in the impact on work incentives if they were uprated, if they are not in-work benefits. That must be addressed. On why the benefits system is so complex and what has happened with simplification, the benefits system has evolved over a long period and complexity has developed for a wide range of reasons, not all of which are bad or unintentional. The department has a wide range of clients, who live multi-faceted lives; my noble friend Lady Hollis mentioned just how convoluted some of those lives can be. Jobcentre Plus alone receives 234 million contacts a year, which is an extraordinary number. There is obviously a need to balance people’s needs, limit costs and target scarce resources. The benefit simplification unit was created to act as a catalyst in driving simplification forward across the benefits system, challenging existing complexity and ensuring that the benefits system operates in ways that customers and staff can understand. On progress to date, as a first step it produced Simplification: Guide to Best Practice in May 2006. In addition, all DWP projects must show in their strategic outline business cases how they have maximised the opportunities for simplification. The BSU has set up a dedicated intranet site with additional guidance and help for staff and an email address for staff to forward ideas for change. Road shows for all staff across the department were completed this year to raise awareness of the simplification agenda. It worked closely with the Social Security Advisory Committee, which agreed that, from July 2006, its scrutiny proposals for regulations would include consideration of the complexity impact of the new measures. That is just some of the stuff going on; there is movement. The noble Lord raised an important point, however, as did my noble friend Lady Hollis.