Don’t squeeze the elderly

Horrified by the perverse incentives inherent in the system, by the fact that – for many – a life on benefits is more lucrative than paid employment, the Work and Pensions Secretary’s years of study have culminated in a flagship reform, the universal credit, for which the pilot projects start today.

Wrapping up different working-age benefits into a single payment, with the aim of ensuring that no one is better off out of work than in a job, this is a major reform which will understandably create significant upheaval and consequent concern.

So it is no surprise that local authorities in Yorkshire are reporting a huge increase in inquiries from people looking for advice and information about the huge changes afoot.

This is why it is incumbent on Mr Duncan Smith to ensure that the reforms are introduced as smoothly as possible, that the inevitable anomalies are spotted early and ironed out and that the resources required to implement the new system, both human and technological, are working as efficiently as possible.

It is surprising, then, with all this on his plate, that the Work and Pensions Secretary clearly feels he has time to embark on a new crusade aimed at eliminating benefits for those pensioners he believes are wealthy enough not to need them.

Mr Duncan Smith’s call for better-off pensioners to find ways of paying back their winter fuel allowance and make recompense for their free prescriptions and bus passes can only sow further confusion, alarm and, indeed, guilt among benefit recipients, most of whom, in this case, have spent their lives diligently paying their taxes and are entitled to something in return.

Instead of viewing the universal-benefit system merely as an opportunity to reduce the welfare budget, the Government should acknowledge it for what it is, a binding contract between all members of society, one which gives everyone a stake in the welfare state and prevents it becoming ghettoised as a vehicle for the poor, in which the better-off have no interest or involvement.

But there is also another reason why fellow Tories should encourage Mr Duncan Smith to say no more on this issue.

Many of those middle-class pensioners in his firing-line are not only struggling with rising energy and fuel bills and thus profoundly grateful for any Government help, they are also among the sector of society most likely to vote at elections and natural Conservative voters to boot. Therefore, considering that the Tories are in need of every vote they can get, they should leave well alone.