Welfare Reform Bill

I am obliged to the noble Lord. I am not disputing that the relevant people have brought it upon themselves nor that in many of these cases, perhaps most, it is entirely justified that the sanction order should be imposed upon them. The simple point is that it should be a court that decides that it is appropriate to impose that order upon them, and it should be for the commission simply to take out an application in the magistrates’ court to say, "This is the history. This is what has happened. It is now appropriate to take away this man or woman’s driving licence or passport". That is the constitutional point. It is inappropriate for the commission, however justified it may be on the merits, however experienced it may be and however careful it is, to do more. It is not appropriate for an administrative body to have these powers. I respectfully ask the Government to think again about this before Report.