Welfare Reform Bill

moved Amendment No. 7: 7: Clause 2, page 2, line 29, leave out paragraph (c) The noble Lord said: Amendments Nos. 7, 10,21 and 24 stand in my name and that of my noble friend. It is probably fairly easy to see why they have been grouped together—they say exactly the same thing. They ask to ““leave out paragraph (c)”” twice in Clause 2 and twice in Clause 4. Paragraph (c) is always the same. It states, "““that such … conditions as may be prescribed are satisfied””." Clause 2 deals with amounts of contributory allowance under the new benefits and Clause 4 deals with amounts of income-related allowance. In Clauses 2(2) and 4(4), paragraphs (a) and (b) read, "““that the assessment phase has ended””," and, "““that the claimant has limited capability for work-related activity, and””." The provision in paragraph (c), "““that such … conditions as may be prescribed are satisfied””," is not Henry VIII—it is probably Henry VII-and-a-bit. What does it mean? To give me an answer, the Minister really has to tell me something along the lines of ““X number of regulations will be presented in X way. We will know exactly when they will occur; we will have a reference to them””. It would be much better to have such a provision in the Bill, whereas at the moment we just do not know what it means. This is supposed to be a document that will be given to the groups that are advising and, indeed, to the claimants themselves. Surely they should know exactly what they are dealing with. The Minister should be able to tell us—indeed, I hope that he can—exactly what this legislation will mean, when it will be presented, and under what process we can raise any problems that we have with it. Otherwise, I suggest that we should press these amendments at a later stage. To be perfectly honest, it is ridiculous to have this wording in the Bill. I beg to move.