Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, the House cannot get away with the abolition of income support quite so easily. Amendment 34 seeks to remove Clause 7. I know that we have spoken about this already, and the Minister has given us assurances, but I do not think that we have quite registered that this is one of the most feared parts of the Bill, and it is worth having one more go at discussing the whole clause. The Minister made it clear that income support would not be abolished until there was no one left who needed it. The safeguards, however, are a bit too flimsy for our liking and for all those who advise us. There are just two safeguards: that income will finally be abolished by the affirmative rather than the negative procedure, and only after the Social Security Advisory Committee has produced a report. There are problems with both these propositions. First, no affirmative instrument is amendable, and votes on affirmative instruments are very rare, although they must always come before the House. Secondly, even if the SSAC produces a damming report, the Government do not always act on its advice; so the safeguards are really not worth very much at all. As the Minister knows, there is a lot of fear that not everyone who is currently on income support will be swept up in the two major benefit groups: the claimants of the jobseeker’s allowance and the employment and support allowance. The Green Paper on social care failed to give a clear lead over the long-term reform of the benefits system as it will affect carers, so their future is still uncertain. Other groups of people who may continue to need income support include couples with a child under seven; people who are awaiting transfer to the ESA but are currently on income support; perhaps a lone parent with a health problem who is therefore incapable of work and whose youngest child is 12; those caring for a child under 18 who receives the DLA and the AA; or full-time students with a hearing impairment. I could go on, but I will stop there. These groups of people have highly specific needs, but the Government have not yet explained what will happen to their claims. A clear road map is needed for each of the affected claimant groups that tells them what benefit they should claim when they lose their income support entitlement; what the income consequences will be; what passported benefits will be protected or lost—a very important matter that is not well understood by those outside the benefits system; whether they will be subject to conditionality; whether the new "good cause" provisions in the Bill will apply to them in decisions on sanctions; and, finally, what restrictions apply to the income-based JSA that do not apply to income support. For example, a person in full-time education may be able to claim income support, but much stricter rules relate to income-based JSA. Some of the groups who may have to claim JSA without job seeking may need to acquire further skills and qualifications, and carers may have to claim JSA without having to job seek. In Committee, it was made clear that the very title, income support, is understood, whereas jobseeker’s allowance does not sound as though it encompasses anyone other than someone who is looking for a job. The Minister said: ""It is fair to say that people may be switched off from claiming just by the title, but I am sure that there are ways in which we can address that".—[Official Report, 22/6/09; col. GC 401.]" That sounds vague in the extreme. It is little wonder that there is a great deal of worry about this clause. We are looking for a clear and detailed plan from the Government of the benefits those currently entitled to income support will have when it is abolished. Parliament should be able to scrutinise the provisions before then. I hope that the Minister may be able to give us a bit more comfort about this than he did in Committee. I beg to move.