Welfare Reform Bill

I thank my noble friend Lady Meacher for moving this amendment, which again has given us an opportunity to discuss an important issue. I take note of the strength of feeling on this issue, particularly about mental health, that has been expressed. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy, for her kind words, but I believe that my position on this is genuinely shared across government; it is certainly shared by the new Secretary of State, and indeed by her predecessor. This group of amendments is aimed at good cause and applies across the various benefits and conditionality regimes in the Bill. On the surface the amendments address a common theme: getting more detail about what will and will not be automatically accepted as good cause. To pick up on the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, I shall address why this level of detail is not already in the Bill. I assure the Committee that there are no hidden agendas here; it is merely a practical consideration. As I have already outlined in earlier discussions, the detail of social security legislation changes frequently to take into account changes in operational need, learning from pilots—something that is certainly relevant to the consideration of the clauses before us—and indeed changing economic situations. We use more flexible secondary legislation as a result; that is not a deliberate attempt to frustrate scrutiny but an attempt at practicality. I should point out that this approach has been accepted by the Delegated Powers Committee and has been used successfully in social security legislation many times before. I accept that there needs to be scrutiny and transparency about these matters, which is why the department routinely consults, as it has to, with the Social Security Advisory Committee about our regulations. Given that, the Committee might find it useful if I set out exactly how we intend to use good cause. In terms of the "work for your benefit" programme, I can confirm that we will use the same good cause provisions as already exist and have been applied in the jobseeker’s allowance. The Committee will already have seen the draft regulations for good cause provisions in the employment and support allowance—my noble friend Lady Meacher referred to these—which takes a similar tack, and we will mirror that in the regulations for parents with regard to the progression-to-work group. One or two specific points were pressed. I confirm that these draft regulations were not available for colleagues in the other place. With regard to some of the wording in them, specifically the question of "must" or "may", they are of course drafts; they are meant to be illustrative, and do not necessarily represent our finally agreed position. I hope, however, that they provide a helpful basis for discussion on these issues, such as indeed they have engendered today. The draft regulations on good cause mirror those already in place for good cause in relation to work-focused interviews. The rationale behind the use of the word "may" is to give the decision-maker the maximum flexibility to take into account the individual circumstances of the customer. However, I accept the arguments in favour of replacing "may" with "must" or "shall", as this would still allow the decision-maker the flexibility to take into account matters other than those set out in the regulations. I am willing to undertake that "must" or "shall" will be in the final version. With regard to travelling time, we see that "reasonable" travelling time should be the test. Obviously that will depend on the circumstances of the case, and therefore we would need some convincing for a more specific provision in the regulations. This approach provides both a fixed framework for decision-making and flexibility for the decision-maker to take into account all the circumstances of any given individual. The process for the employment and support allowance will be very similar to the existing ESA process if a claimant fails to attend or engage in a work-focused interview. In addition, the personal adviser will, before starting the initial work-focused interview, explain the progression-to-work model and what will be expected of the customer. This will of course include the work-related activity requirement and the power that the adviser has to direct a claimant to a specific work-related activity in limited circumstances. If the personal adviser establishes that the customer has a mental health condition, learning disability or other condition affecting cognition, such as stroke or autistic spectrum disorder, they will make an additional explanation of the conditionality to ensure that the customer understands the requirements. If a customer fails to carry out the required work-related activity, the adviser will discuss this non-compliance with the customer at the work-focused interview. This will provide the first opportunity for the customer to show the adviser that he had good cause for not complying with the work-related activity requirement. If the customer fails to show good cause at the interview, the personal adviser will hand him a letter explaining that he now has five days to show good cause for non-compliance. If a customer does not turn up to a work-focused interview, he will be posted a letter outlining the consequence of his non-compliance, and he will then have seven days to show good cause. If the customer has a mental health condition or learning difficulties, the personal adviser will arrange for a home visit to take place. The adviser will always attempt to meet the customer before any reduction in benefit is proposed. If the customer is indeed sanctioned, he will always be able to appeal the decision. I believe that, taken together, these steps represent significant safeguards to protect vulnerable claimants. In terms of lone parents, whom we discussed on Tuesday at length, jobseekers’ regulations already state that account must be taken of any caring responsibilities that a parent has, whether childcare is available and whether the childcare is suitable for the needs of the parent and the child. The lone parent regulations have been in place for some time, and we were not particularly proposing to change them because they seem to be effective in meeting our requirements. Nevertheless, before I seek to expand on some of the other points, I am happy to say that we will reflect on the potential benefits of being more specific in the Bill. I do not undertake that we will do so, but that point has been pressed and I think that we are, rightly, obligated to take the matter away and deal with it seriously. The noble Baroness, Lady Murphy, referred to the case studies, and the noble Countess, Lady Mar, said that none of them includes someone aged 50 or over. I should just explain that we agreed to share the case studies that we had developed but they do not necessarily reflect our final thoughts on the design of the programme. The development of our programmes will be affected by the deliberations that we have in this House and by ongoing discussions with stakeholders and providers. However, I hope that they are useful illustrations of how the proposals might work, and they were circulated with that in mind. Perhaps I may return briefly to the issue of childcare, which I acknowledge is a matter of continuing concern for noble Lords. We are quite clear that it is the parent and the parent alone who can decide whether the services offered by a childcare provider are suitable for their child. Jobcentre Plus advisers will not be able to direct parents to a particular provider, even if that provider has vacancies that appear to meet the person’s requirements. However, if a parent claims that he or she is unable to source suitable childcare, then the adviser will need to ensure that these representations are reasonable. Therefore, if, for example, the parent simply makes an assumption that he or she will be unable to source suitable childcare, that will not pass the reasonableness test. To ensure that parents make reasonable efforts to identify options, parents who consider that they cannot comply with the conditions imposed on them because suitable childcare is not available will need to demonstrate to Jobcentre Plus that they have taken reasonable steps to secure such care. That could include contacting the children's information services, visiting local extended schools or Ofsted-registered childcare providers and identifying whether other informal care options are available to them. Jobcentre Plus advisers have good knowledge of childcare availability.