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The Prosser Perspective.... a weekly column from Dover and Deal MP Gwyn Prosser

23 December 2008

When constituents visit the House of Commons and enjoy a tour of the Palace of Westminster they commonly make the following three observations.

Firstly, that the Chamber of the Commons is much smaller that it looks on TV; secondly that the Monarch’s Throne in the House of Lords is much grander than they expected and thirdly that they had no idea how much work goes on in the Committee Corridors of both Houses. There are over twenty committee rooms set on two landings above the principle floor of the estate and during most of every day nearly all these committee spaces are in use.

MPs are involved in Standing Committees, Select Committees, Hybrid Committees, Delegated Legislation Committees and others – but of these, the later are the least loved by Members of Parliament. We don’t like them because we are appointed to the DL committees without discussion, we are given very little notice and they all carry a strong three-line-whip.

On the day of writing, (Tuesday) five of the sixteen committees sitting in the Commons were DLs, most were considering rather obscure bits of legislation but not the one I served on. The Fourth Delegated Legislation Committee in Room 9 was discussing and voting on the Christmas Bonus (Specified Sum) Order 2008 – in other words we were putting into statute the Government’s promise last month to raise the Christmas Bonus for pensioners and other groups by £60, so it will now go up from £10 to £70.

One of the advantages of this payment is that it’s wholly automatic and like our Winter Fuel Allowance (which has also been boosted this year) it will be paid – tax free – straight into your account without having to sign any forms or send off any applications. In our constituency of Dover & Deal, 21,810 people who are over 60 will benefit from the fuel allowance increase and over 26,000 people will enjoy the Christmas Bonus.

This is all part of the Government’s £4 billion boost for pensioners which will see basic state pensions rise by 5% to £95.25 a week and Pension Credits increase by the highest amount ever to £130 per week. That’s the good news – the bad news is that last year alone there were £2 billion worth of Pension Credits which were not taken up by people who were entitled to them.

The Christmas Bonus will be received as two separate payments. The current £10 will be paid into accounts this month and the £60 increase payments will start going out next month. Needless to say, there was no opposition to our proposals, they were welcomed by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats but I did raise my concern that some people who would understandably be expecting their Christmas Bonus rise in December would be disappointed at having to wait till the new year for it.

I’ve not altered my general aversion to these Delegated Legislation sessions but appointment to this particular committee was a real labour of love.