Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I may have misheard the Minister, and I apologise to him if I did, but did he say that he did not accept that benefit levels have an effect on healthy living? That is what I heard him say. It is obviously not the only factor affecting healthy living, but Sir Michael Marmot, who is one of the world’s authorities on public health, made it very clear that benefit levels are a crucial element in healthy living. If people cannot feed their children properly and if they are stressed because of trying to make ends meet, it has profound effect on their health.