Parliamentary search - Welfare Reform Bill

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

731 c51-110GC

Session

2010-12

Legislative stage

Committee stage

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords Grand Committee

Welfare Reform Bill. Brought from the Commons. Explanatory Notes HL Bill 75-EN also published.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Bills
House of Lords

Proceeding contributions

Baroness Sherlock | 731 c106GC (Link to this contribution) Forgive me, in the interests of levity, I was not being clear enough. The people I am concerned abou...

Lord Freud | 731 c106GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I said earlier that we are working on the detailed implementation of this. It would be pre...

Show all contributions (100)

Lord Freud | 731 c103-4GC (Link to this contribution) I would be happy to circulate the information to noble Lords. On the social sector size criteria me...

Lord Freud | 731 c71GC (Link to this contribution) Certainly, the study of the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, would seem to me to be a bedroom. However, box...

Baroness Wilkins | 731 c93-4GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, further to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, I ask him whether it is fair that...

Earl of Listowel | 731 c83-5GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, before I speak to my amendment in this group, perhaps I may follow the noble Lord, Lord Be...

Lord Wigley | 731 c108-9GC (Link to this contribution) Yes indeed, those 430 may well be safeguarded but there is the question of whether other people, who...

Lord Freud | 731 c108GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, may I make that absolutely clear? There are 430 people currently on the HOLD scheme. The b...

Lord De Mauley | 731 c110GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this may be a convenient moment for the Committee to adjourn until 2 pm on Thursday, 20 Oc...

Lord Freud | 731 c107GC (Link to this contribution) I can answer the noble Lord pretty rapidly on that. This is not a devolved area, so the discretionar...

Lord Wigley | 731 c107GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I speak at the request of my noble friend Lord Rix, who has had to leave the Committee, be...

Lord Freud | 731 c107GC (Link to this contribution) By the time we get to this again, I will come back with that answer.

Lord Wigley | 731 c108GC (Link to this contribution) We can put a marker down on that clear answer, for which I am very grateful. Secondly, on one of th...

Lord Wigley | 731 c108GC (Link to this contribution) Therefore, will any additional resources for discretionary payments that will be made, in line with ...

Lord Freud | 731 c108GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, yes.

Lord Wigley | 731 c107GC (Link to this contribution) I accept entirely, of course, that housing benefit is run by the local authorities as a non-devolved...

Lord Freud | 731 c108GC (Link to this contribution) What I can confirm is that the DHPs go directly to the local authorities, not through the local Asse...

Lord Wigley | 731 c107GC (Link to this contribution) Of course—that is the whole point. The housing benefit is not a devolved area, but local government ...

Lord Freud | 731 c107GC (Link to this contribution) All I can confirm is that, just as anywhere else in the country, in those Administrations, the money...

Baroness Sherlock | 731 c105GC (Link to this contribution) May I press the Minister on one more point? I understood that his argument in response to the amendm...

Lord Freud | 731 c105GC (Link to this contribution) I think that this is the same case where I spent time with the family, so I am reasonably familiar w...

Lord Freud | 731 c105GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it was interesting that there was a range of responses to our survey. Different people wil...

Baroness Sherlock | 731 c105GC (Link to this contribution) The Treasury employed me for many years; I would do no such thing.

Lord Freud | 731 c105-6GC (Link to this contribution) It did not sound like that. Some people will choose to pay £11 and £12 extra for an extra bedroom p...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c106GC (Link to this contribution) In that case, can I ask the Minister to amplify his stats for us when he writes to us next? He has t...

Lord Freud | 731 c106GC (Link to this contribution) Yes. I always prefer to answer rather than write, but I think I will on this occasion go to paper. I...

Earl of Listowel | 731 c106-7GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I was grateful, as I said before, that the Minister is giving this issue of arrears carefu...

Lord McKenzie of Luton | 731 c51GC (Link to this contribution) 34ZA: Clause 11, page 5, line 4, at end insert— ““( ) Such an amount shall remain in payment in the ...

Lord McKenzie of Luton | 731 c52GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I shall endeavour to speak up, George. I am not sure whether it is this camera that you wa...

Lord McKenzie of Luton | 731 c53GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister if he is saying that what is being contemplated in effect re...

Lord Freud | 731 c52-3GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the amendment is slightly different from the question posed, and I shall deal with the que...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c53-8GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, Amendment 34A, as noble Lords will understand, is a paving amendment for the subsequent, s...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c53GC (Link to this contribution) 34A: Clause 11, page 5, line 16, at end insert ““taking into account the availability of suitable ac...

Lord McAvoy | 731 c58GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I want to put a couple of points to the Minister on a particular aspect of the availabilit...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) Does that mean, therefore, that the noble Lord supports the DWP definition of underoccupancy in whic...

Lord German | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) I cannot answer that question until such time as we have the answer to what our housing stock is, ho...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) This is an ““in principle”” question: what definition of overcrowding or underoccupying is the noble...

Lord German | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) I will repeat the answer that I gave the noble Baroness just now.

Lord German | 731 c63-4GC (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that quotation, which of course goes against the other one that I gave from furthe...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 731 c64GC (Link to this contribution) I have listened very carefully, and the noble Lord’s Welsh eloquence—what do you call it, hwyl?—is i...

Lord German | 731 c64GC (Link to this contribution) My speech, my Lords, is in favour of the policy proposals that are behind this measure, but in order...

Baroness Thomas of Winchester | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) The noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, is bullying my noble friend, which is outrageous. My noble friend is e...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) I have still not had the answer to my question. I do not want him to repeat it, just to clarify it. ...

Lord German | 731 c65GC (Link to this contribution) If the noble Lord wants me to answer the question, I can answer it, and will answer it in this way; ...

Lord Stoneham of Droxford | 731 c61-2GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of First Wessex Housing Group and chair-designate of Housin...

Baroness Wilkins | 731 c62GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, as my noble friend Lord Wigley suggested, I will leave the arguments about disabled people...

Baroness Lister of Burtersett | 731 c60GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, my noble friend Lady Hollis has made a devastating case. I simply want to read out an e-ma...

Lord Wigley | 731 c60-1GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the case made in the excellent opening speech by the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, did not ...

Baroness Turner of Camden | 731 c58-9GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I support the amendment, which was so comprehensively moved by my noble friend Lady Hollis...

Baroness Thomas of Winchester | 731 c59GC (Link to this contribution) At this point I should like to make a point on the second new subsection proposed by Amendment 48, t...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c63GC (Link to this contribution) The Government’s own impact assessment says: "““Estimates of Housing Benefit savings are based upon ...

Lord German | 731 c63GC (Link to this contribution) I think if the noble Lord would wait a few moments, he will see what I am proposing. It is on this p...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 731 c63GC (Link to this contribution) Can I ask the noble Lord a number of questions since he is asking the Minister a lot of questions? H...

Lord German | 731 c62-3GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Stoneham in his case for transition. My argument is that if...

Baroness Wilkins | 731 c104GC (Link to this contribution) Could I just return to the issue of disabled people? I am delighted to hear that he is willing to th...

Lord Freud | 731 c104GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I hope that I am indicating that we are looking very hard at what proposition we can bring...

Earl of Listowel | 731 c104GC (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the Minister for reassuring the Committee that he will think carefully about t...

Lord Freud | 731 c104GC (Link to this contribution) I will repeat the two points. The first point is exactly the issue that we want to deal with and the...

Baroness Hollins | 731 c104GC (Link to this contribution) I apologise for this, but I think that the Minister said that the same mortgage rates would be appli...

Lord Freud | 731 c102GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, perhaps I may conclude on the point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis. The confusi...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c102GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it is nice of the Minister to give us those figures, but is his £300 million the amount se...

Lord Freud | 731 c102-3GC (Link to this contribution) No, it is £300 million set against £500 million—so 60 per cent. I have already talked about the beh...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c103GC (Link to this contribution) Could the Minister at some point, not necessarily today but in due course, set out the stats on the ...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c82GC (Link to this contribution) Am I right in believing that, to become a foster carer, you must have a spare bedroom? If you have a...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 731 c71GC (Link to this contribution) Then you tempt tenants to board up their windows, as some owners used to do when there were window t...

Lord Rix | 731 c76-7GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I assure the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, that I have spoken at the Royal Albert Hall, the Ro...

Lord Rix | 731 c76GC (Link to this contribution) 35: Clause 11, page 5, line 21, at end insert— ““( ) Regulations under subsection (3)(a) must ensure...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c74-6GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, first, I thank warmly all those who have taken part; it has been a helpful as well as a hi...

Lord Freud | 731 c71-4GC (Link to this contribution) The coalition Government, my Lords, are not Queen Anne and we will resist any of those blocked up wi...

Lord Best | 731 c81-2GC (Link to this contribution) Well, preferably a bungalow, but mostly we just do flats, but they can be smart apartments. Yes, you...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c81GC (Link to this contribution) A bungalow.

Lord Best | 731 c79-81GC (Link to this contribution) I am glad to start with that affirmation in advance. I am speaking to Amendments 38, 39, 40, 42, 43,...

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope | 731 c77-9GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I shall speak briefly to Amendment 36. This group is not as complicated as it looks becaus...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 731 c70-1GC (Link to this contribution) I will make it easier for the Minister then, since he is finding it difficult. In my city of Edinbur...

Baroness Sherlock | 731 c66-7GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, there is very little left to say, particularly after the astonishingly impressive opening ...

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope | 731 c65-6GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am provoked into joining this discussion, which I was going to leave until the next grou...

Lord Freud | 731 c70GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the size criteria measure marks a significant change in our approach to housing benefit fo...

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 731 c67-70GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I start by saying that it was good to hear a defence of the noble Lord, Lord German, who a...

Lord Freud | 731 c70GC (Link to this contribution) I shall continue. By 2014-15, the annual savings achieved as a result of housing benefit reform as a...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c70GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, that was why I specified a 15 year-old in my illustration of bedroom size.

Lord Freud | 731 c70GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am tempted to ask the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, to come and save me from bullying by ...

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock | 731 c70GC (Link to this contribution) Could the Minister describe what he means by a bedroom?

Earl of Listowel | 731 c96GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am sure that the Minister will be keen to reassure the Committee about the concerns rais...

Lord Whitty | 731 c94-6GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the Government will have to recognise the anxieties that lie behind the bulk of amendments...

Lord Haskel | 731 c102GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, a Division has been called in the House. The Committee stands adjourned for 10 minutes. S...

Lord Freud | 731 c102GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, without us rambling through the papers, I think that the figure is £500 million, of which ...

Baroness Hollis of Heigham | 731 c102GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, perhaps I may press the Minister on that key point. He has quoted a figure of £500 million...

Lord Freud | 731 c99-102GC (Link to this contribution) No, the figure of £2 billion applies to the total saving by the end of the period in 2015 of all the...

Lord McKenzie of Luton | 731 c99GC (Link to this contribution) I quoted the figure of £2 billion. I thought that figure was for several years and related to these ...

Lord Freud | 731 c98-9GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this has been a very good debate. I am not saying I have welcomed anything anyone has said...

Lord McKenzie of Luton | 731 c96-8GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it is with some trepidation that I speak in this debate having released, in the terms of t...

Lord Best | 731 c82-3GC (Link to this contribution) I fear that that is exactly the position. Others may wish to come in on the amendment about foster p...

Lord Wigley | 731 c91GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I speak very briefly in support of Amendment 35, to which I have my name, to endorse entir...

Baroness Meacher | 731 c89-91GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I support all the amendments in this group, but I congratulate my noble friend Lord Best o...

Lord Boswell of Aynho | 731 c93GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I rise briefly and somewhat diffidently because I did not have the privilege of hearing so...

Baroness Hollins | 731 c91-3GC (Link to this contribution) I, too, support Amendment 35, as introduced by my noble friend Lord Rix. As we have already heard to...

Lord German | 731 c86-7GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I was talking just before the break about the number of foster carers who will be affected...

Lord German | 731 c85-6GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I speak to Amendments 48C, 48D and 86ZZZA in my name. It is appropriate that I should spea...

Baroness Campbell of Surbiton | 731 c89GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Best, especially on his amendment regarding the CLG criteri...

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town | 731 c87-9GC (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I, too, shall speak briefly to Amendment 40 and Amendment 41, which stands in my name and ...

Subjects

Disability

Appeals

Benefits rules

Costs

Housing benefit

Jobseeker's allowance

Housing

Private rented housing

Home ownership incentive schemes

Universal credit

Legislation

Welfare Reform Bill 2010-12

Link

View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk