Welfare Reform Bill

I thank my noble friend Lord Kirkwood and the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, for supporting this very modest proposal. My noble friend talked about scepticism among people outside regarding how the Bill will work. That is absolutely true. A lot of groups have expressed their unease about the way the Bill will work. How many groups responding negatively to the consultation by saying that they do not like the Bill at all will it take for the Government to think twice about how they are going to put it into practice? The noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, referred to 387 regulations in the Bill and said that it represented a blank cheque, which is just about right. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, asked whether the provision would apply to Clause 2. It would indeed. I have tabled another amendment in this group to Clause 2. However, I was not surprised by the Government’s assertions. I was given some draft groupings which were marked up, probably by mistake. By this group is the remark: "reject: controversy, low". That certainly puts me in my place. Since the Bill was published, Parliament has undergone an earthquake. Now we are being told that Parliament must be strengthened. The Prime Minister himself has said it. Constitutional renewal has been in the air almost since the Bill’s Second Reading. I am not surprised—given the document I have—but I am saddened that I will not get anywhere with this amendment. We shall have to go on trying to tease out what the regulations will say. I hope that before any of them are published, the DWP will give us full impact assessments on all of them. Can I have that assurance? I refer not to the quality impact assessments but to the proper full financial impact assessments, which are quite often left out. If the noble Lord can give me that assurance, I shall be very glad to hear it.