Welfare Reform Bill

Perhaps the Secretary of State can tell the House this afternoon when those proposals will be ready for us to look at. [Interruption.] ““In time for Committee,”” he says from a sedentary position. We all look forward to seeing that. It is now clear that for the self-employed, savers and families, this Bill at the very best poses more questions than it answers. The other question that the House has to ask the Secretary of State this afternoon is not about how we foster ambition, but about how we nurture compassion. How do we strengthen and reinforce our obligations to each other? That is something that we will hear a lot more about, when we talk about the reform of disability living allowance. What we know about the detailed reforms is not good. I welcome what the Secretary of State has said about the mobility component of DLA. I think that he has confirmed that he is withdrawing the proposal to cut £135 million from the mobility component of DLA. If that is true, it is welcome, because we are talking about a measure that the chief executive of Scope pronounced as ““callous”” and an"““assault on the most vulnerable””." The rationale presented by the right hon. Gentleman the Minister of State has this morning been taken apart by 39 charities. I am afraid that I have to agree with the words of those campaigners who have said that"““many of these people””" —those in residential care—"““will be prevented from enjoying the freedom of movement that is taken for granted by people who are not disabled.””" Those are, of course, the words of the motion to the Liberal Democrats' spring conference this weekend. I hope that together we may be able to prevail and get this measure dead and buried.