Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, this is a straightforward and, I hope, brief probing amendment to Clause 6. This clause is concerned with restrictions on entitlement. There are three types of restrictions, two of which are time-related. Clause 6(1)(c) deals with periods at the beginning of a period of claim, which presumably are supposed to reflect the waiting days applicable to some benefits. Of course, waiting days do not apply to housing benefit or generally to tax credits. Question one for the Minister is therefore how the waiting-day rules are to be applied under universal credit. Application to the universal credit would, as my noble friend Lady Hollis said, be adopting the lowest common denominator. You need, for example, to take account of the fact that rent has to be paid from day one if there are going to be waiting days before the claim becomes payable. My second question is whether the same sort of exemptions from waiting days that operate currently—for example, in JSA, within 12 weeks of the cessation of another benefit claim—will apply to universal credit. Question three is what linking rules will apply so that the waiting days do not apply where universal credit is in operation previously. Perhaps we can understand the likely period involved in that. Of course, there are various back-dating rules that operate with a range of current benefits. How are these to be dealt with under universal credit? My next question is: where waiting days are applicable under current arrangements—typically three days—are there any that are seven days, and how is this going to operate in the new world? Clause 6(1)(b) envisages entitlement being denied for up to seven days other than at the start of a period of claim. Perhaps we can have some examples of what the Minister has in mind. It is understood that Clause 6(1)(a) may be used to exclude certain groups that remain the responsibility of the local authority: for example, prisoners and children leaving care. Can the Minister please confirm—or let us have a note if he is unable to do so today—that the type of exclusions contemplated for universal credit exclude access to all components of the benefits that are to be subsumed into the universal credit? I also draw the noble Lord’s attention to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee’s report on this issue, which says: "““Clause 6 provides for restrictions on entitlement that are left largely to negative regulations. The power in subsection (1)(a), which is subject to no constraint in the Bill, could affect entitlement very significantly. We draw it to the attention of the House so that the Minister may be invited to satisfy the House that the negative procedure affords adequate control over the exercise of the power. Unless the House is satisfied with the Minister's response, we recommend that the affirmative procedure should apply””." I should be grateful if the noble Lord could also deal with that point. I beg to move.