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Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken and particularly to the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, who was persuaded after a hurried conversation with me at the last minute. She has put her finger on the very real possibility of judicial review. If I was a betting person I would not put money on the Government to win any case. My noble friend Lord Kirkwood reminded us of the consultation with 24 against the policy and one in favour. He called the policy short-term, superficial and counterproductive, and said that the pathway pilots did not point to this capping scheme. On the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, I am sure that the Government already have a detailed policy on the sharing of rooms by siblings. I do not suggest that every child must have its own bedroom. If that were the case, the Social Security Advisory Committee would have had its own comments if it thought that the policy was currently too generous. This is a significant tightening of the screw of the Government’s welfare-to-work policy. That is where this comes from. I am just not convinced by the Minister’s reply. I agree wholeheartedly with the Social Security Advisory Committee’s concluding paragraph, in which it expresses strong concern about the reactive nature of these proposals, attributing them to, ""media coverage of a small number of cases … to a problem that is not widespread"." Perhaps media coverage of some of the consequences of this policy might redress the balance. However, it is an unsatisfactory way to legislate, particularly when good alternative and practical solutions have been put forward. For this reason, I am persuaded to press my Motion to a Division. Division on Baroness Thomas's Motion. Contents 27; Not-Contents 58. Motion disagreed. Sitting suspended.