Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the amendment. The case has been very clearly made. The amendment is seeking the assurance of something written in primary legislation rather than the comfort that was given that this could be dealt with in regulations. Perhaps I may take the opportunity to clarify a part of the debate we had in Committee. The Minister said: "““Turning to the current rules, broadly speaking, current DLA provisions have a one-year linking rule. This allows individuals over 65 to renew an award within one year of their previous award without losing DLA entitlement. Similarly, we intend to allow a linking period for PIP. This will support those individuals who reach the upper age limit and have a break in their claim through temporary improvement, provided the individual makes a claim within a defined period and continues to fulfil the eligibility criteria for PIP””." I understand all of that. The next sentence says: "““As with DLA, there will be restrictions on new and existing claims for those over the age of 65””.—[Official Report, 16/11/11; col. GC 305.]" Can the Minister expand on what particular restrictions on existing claims for those over the age of 65 he is intending to implement?