Welfare Reform Bill

I am sure that the Minister is about to turn to this particular amendment, but every Member of the Committee, whether in this Room or not, will appreciate that the Minister has made a most important statement, showing that the Government have indeed listened and, I hope, learnt from the discussions that we had, not least on Clause 2. It will repay very careful study, which we will all give it—or I certainly will. On the face of it, what the Minister now proposes is much closer than what my party originally proposed, from which ideas on much of the formulation of the Bill arose. So I am very grateful for what he has just said.