Welfare Reform Bill

The amendment has been so ably moved that I do not need to add much more than my tuppenceworth. I support the amendments, particularly their thrust on training. We have got down to the nitty-gritty of what happens in practice to assist those who may not have worked for some time, have real potential but whose circumstances have been against them for all kinds of reasons, among them learning disabilities and mental health problems. The noble Countess, Lady Mar, has an amendment that has the same sort of implications. The strength of this Bill lies in its potential for therapeutic interaction and a proper action plan that is supportive, whether individualised or personalised. It is a little bit like doing a care plan for somebody subject to a community treatment order under the Mental Health Act. You have to sit down and negotiate what the blocks are to remaining well and how to get through the system of hurdles to get well again and back into recovery. This is an analogous situation. My real fear—and we have brought this up before—is that we need to create an attitude that comes with training and understanding people’s conditions, and a cultural change among those who provide the services so that they get into the right relationships with people. Therefore, the fundamentals of training for the private providers—those who are going to the actual job—are crucial in a whole series of amendments, of which this is the most important. We must somehow use this Bill to make a real difference to how people become engaged with the work-related activity process, which then has the potential to lead them on to work. I support the amendment.