Welfare Reform Bill

Yes, I believe that would be the practical effect. I will try to deal with some of the other questions. The noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, said that some providers would not want to take on the task of sanctioning, but we know that some providers want these powers. Shaw Trust and WorkDirections have indicated that they do—and they obviously do not believe that it will undermine their relationships. It is important that there are processes and arrangements in place to ensure that it does not. The noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, asked what evaluation of Pathways to date we can incorporate. That evaluation is ongoing. One of the advantages of getting voluntary and private sectors involved is that they can be more flexible and innovative. But all providers will be reviewed regularly. It is an ongoing, developing process. It is important that we recognise that, which is why we should not rush into enabling sanctions to be passed to providers until we are clear about the total direction of our proposed programme. I think that that I have dealt with the question whether decision-makers will have to be separate from personal advisers. We certainly envisage that there would be some separation of these roles, just as there is in Jobcentre Plus, but there is a great deal of work that we need to do with providers to determine how this could work in practice and how to deal with this in the contracts. I hope that I have dealt with the concerns of noble Lords, but I stress again that regulations on sanctions would be affirmative if we were to move forward with them. There will be an opportunity for your Lordships' House and another place to debate them.