Conservative conference

Marriage aid 'will give most help to rich' most

Treasury ministers yesterday denounced Conservative plans for a transferable personal allowance to recognise marriage in the benefit system, claiming the scheme would most help rich married couples and penalise single mothers. A third of the total cash would go to the richest 20% of couples with less than 5% going to the bottom 20%.

The Treasury also released figures asserting a family with two children on £15,000 a year would save £965 a year. By contrast the working families tax credit would give the same couple £2,200 a year.

The basis of the calculations will be challenged by the shadow social security secretary, David Willetts, who insists his party is still debating the merits of the transferable personal allowance.

He maintained however at a fringe meeting that there was a strong case for targeting benefits on specific categories in need such as young families, or older pensioners. He insisted such targeting was different from means testing which tapered benefits on the basis of individual income, or savings. The Treasury attack came as Mr Willetts told his party conference pensioners want the respect and dignity comes from the basic contributory pension.

He was explaining Tory plans for an uprating in the basic pension in 2001 ranging from £5.50 for a single pensioner under 75 to £10 for a married couple over 75. Some of this will be funded from an extra £320m saved from eslewhere in the social security budget. He promised: "If Gordon Brown uprates the pension by more than inflation we will accept that and still add our reform package on top." He insisted pensioners did not want extra payments such as the winter fuel allowance which were seen as patronising gimmicks. "What they want is the respect and dignity that comes from the basic contributory pension. Labour claims that instead of putting money into the basic state pension they have put more into means tested benefits.

"I cannot imagine why they should want to boast that more pensioners will have to wrestle with the complicated 40 page form for their so called minimim income guarantee. It requires 323 separate items of information including such gems are you or or your partner pregnant?"

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