Welfare Reform Bill

Like the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, I am delighted to discover that when a pilot does not work very well, as this one did not for the reasons that the Minister gave in his opening address, it is done away with within a legislative framework. I am getting more and more confused, though. Again, this needs explanation outside the Committee. If the original legislation was in 2001, presumably the first pilot started in 2002. At that point it was allowed to run for one year, as the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, said. It was then carried on to 2004, at which point there was an independent evaluation. It was then extended, presumably until 2005—or as it 2006? It was not until February this year, three years later, that the right honourable Mr Straw made a Statement on the subject. Does it really take three years for the final evaluation? I think that there is more to this than meets the eye. However, I doubt that the Minister, at this moment, can go any further—although he is looking fairly pregnant, so perhaps he can.