Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, having been wonderfully rude about the first probing amendment of the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, I am going to do exactly the opposite now because I regret that he announced that this was a probing amendment. This is the widest power that I have seen for many years in any potential Act of Parliament. Paragraph (d) of Clause 19(2) states that, "““the claimant is of a prescribed description””." Subsections (3) and (4), which relate to the subsequent amendments as the noble Lord has explained, include the word ““may””. However, if ““may”” is included, ““may not”” would also be included. The phrase that sprang to mind was, ““How wide is the ocean; how deep is the sea?””. I actually think that for once the Merits Committee has not gone far enough; nor, as I said, has the noble Lord.