Welfare Reform Bill

I thank all Members of the Grand Committee who have spoken and supported the amendment. Some very graphic phrases were used, such as when the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, said that support services would take the mystery out of direct payments. That is a very good one, and very important. As for the experience of becoming an employer voice by the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, I have worried about that for a long time; anyone who has run any sort of payroll knows that it is terribly complicated. You do not want to make a mistake because you feel that you might get had up by HMRC for fraud or something awful. The noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, gave us a most graphic example. On this business of people who need assistance going to bed, their carers can sometimes turn up appallingly early. She gave a very good example of how a lot of people coming together in a city can help each other. It sounded very interesting. The experience of the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, also had great resonance, as that is exactly what happens in a lot of cases. The Minister fell back on our old friend flexibility, which is a double-edged sword. He talked about these measures possibly being contained in regulations, but might we see a draft of the regulations under this clause when they are produced? It would be extremely helpful if we could see a genuine draft and make comments on the regulations. I know that the Grand Committee was not persuaded by my idea of super-affirmatives, but I am still rather keen on them. They would be a very good way in which to use that sort of procedure, have a look at this matter informally and make suggestions.