Housing Benefit (Loss of Benefit) (Pilot Scheme) Regulations 2007

I thank the noble Lords, Lord Taylor and Lord Kirkwood, for their contributions. I acknowledge that there was a degree of scepticism from each of them about the value of the regulations, which I understand. It rolls on from our debates during the course of the Welfare Reform Bill. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, asked about the impact on families with children and those with mental health problems. Clearly, both of those are considerations to which the local authority will have to have regard when deciding whether to proceed with the sanctions. That is part of the important judgment that will have to be made. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, asked about funding. We are investing heavily in support services through the family intervention projects and other programmes. The projects are important in ensuring that significant resources already being spent on the families in question are co-ordinated and used to best effect. The Respect Task Force has established a national network of family intervention projects in more than 50 areas. The Department for Education and Skills has made an additional £6 million available in 2007-08 to enable the new Respect areas announced on 22 January to invest in extra parenting provision to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour. Ensuring that the most difficult and resistant households take up rehabilitation could help to reduce significantly the levels of anti-social behaviour. Money is being invested in those areas. Five pilot areas have family intervention projects in place: Blackburn, Blackpool, Manchester, Newham and Wirral. Although this is just one model of support, each area is confident that it will have an appropriate array of support available. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, asked why those particular authorities were willing to take part—although he partly answered his own question. They have each had anti-social behaviour evictions in their areas. I accept entirely that the base of the numbers is relatively small; nationally, we are looking at perhaps 1,500 people. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, raised that. Within the pilot areas, a relatively small number of people will be focused on. The other key element of the pilot sites is that they will have the support services available, which is very important. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, said that we in the DWP were ““piloted out””. I think that someone in the other place said he thought the DWP had more pilots than British Airways. That might be Ryanair; I do not know. The noble Lord said also that the sanction could last for five years and the pilots only for two. Clearly, everything comes to an end at the end of that two-year period. It is correct that the pilots will be in England only. If we were to roll them out nationally, we would need to return to Parliament as necessary. If we were to do so, we would seek to apply the scheme to all of Great Britain. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, asked whether government departments have spoken to each other, because a number of players are involved in the sanctions. Yes, extensive close working between the DWP, the Respect Task Force and Communities and Local Government has taken place. We have also consulted lobby groups such as Mind and Shelter, which are working with us in drawing up the guidance. I was asked whether someone would escape sanction if they moved out of a piloting area. It is inevitably the case that if we are piloting only in a few areas and somebody is outside, the scheme ceases to apply. As I said in my introductory remarks, the eviction, the sanction and the behaviour involved have to take place within one of the piloted areas, although not necessarily the same one. However, someone who was outside would not be covered. Obviously the scheme will not be a success if we end up sanctioning lots of people, but we need to evaluate that. The evaluation will be independent and carried out by experts in this field of research. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, challenged whether the scheme was consistent with human rights legislation. The advice we have had is that it is. Our advisers look at all these things very carefully, which is why I was able to make the statement that I did. The definition of hardship is fairly broad, and it is good that it is. The noble Lord may well be right that at the end of the day there are relatively few people to whom this might apply. Ultimately we want to sanction no one under these provisions, because we want people to take up the rehabilitation that is on offer. I hope I have covered most of the points that noble Lords have made. If not, they are welcome to have another go.