Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

This is an area where I think it would be very desirable for the Government to have reserve powers on which they could draw should the need arise. My noble friend’s response in terms of the statistics of those carried by passported benefits into the system are very persuasive. However, there are benefits which are not included here which knock out some of the income-related benefits. I take, for example—though this is, obviously, a diminishing number—somebody on a widow’s benefit, which is not listed, who, were they not on a widow’s benefit, would qualify for, say, income support if they had children, but choose not to take it up because they prefer to remain on the widow’s benefit. That is an older group of people and one that is diminishing in number, but they possibly would be eligible under means testing but not under passporting. I have not thought about this but I suspect that if I dug around on things such as industrial injuries I might find other groups who would come within the framework of the measure but are knocked out because of this listing effect. I do not know how many people would be involved, and I do not know how widely they would be drawn. Obviously, if my noble friend were minded to accept my amendments, or to revisit my Amendments 11 and 15, it would be a very wide group indeed, but I am not confident that he will feel able to do that. It seems to me desirable for the Government to take up this power. Although I think that the Government’s passporting approach is absolutely the right one, which should bring the vast majority of people into the system very easily and straightforwardly without the hassle factor, the means testing would allow a belt-and-braces approach to be adopted towards people who we may wish to include in the scheme some time down the line but would not be able to include as we would not have the primary powers so to do. My noble friend would be wise to take up the power even if there is no intention or need to take advantage of it in the next three, four or five years.