Welfare Reform Bill

I endorse the line of inquiry that the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, is pursuing. It would be remiss of us if we did not spend some time looking at hardship as it applies to welfare-to-work and the "work for your benefit" provisions in Clause 1. In any case, I am worried about statutory deductions. A lot of the client group that we are talking about who may be faced with the provisions of Clause 1 are families who are already subject to such deductions. I have always been concerned about the interface between the hardship regime, which seeks to protect members of the family, and statutory deductions—for example, for repayments of loans that have come from the social fund. Professor Gregg, who is my guru for the purposes of this Grand Committee, says that there is a risk of disengagement and dispossession in families who go completely out of the system altogether. That drags them in the direction of addiction, crime and the grey economy. That can all be foreseen, and we must try to make provision for it. Careful attention to how the hardship provisions interface with statutory deductions, disconnection from a law-abiding life and a timely return to work are proper concerns, and if the Minister can say anything to reassure us about these issues then the Grand Committee will be the better for it. I am happy to support the amendments on that basis.