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Welfare Reform Bill

I am appalled by what I hear. Many of the people who are in this situation have been on benefits or are dyslexic. Some cannot read and write, many cannot speak English, and many—like me—simply do not understand a lot of the details of these arrangements. The Minister talks of advisers in the jobcentre. If they are advisers, they ought to advise, not penalise. They ought to help the person to understand what the problems are, and if that person has made a mistake, they ought to accept an apology and put things right. Of course there are real fraudsters. I remember asking a question in Parliament when there was £2 billion of housing fraud, but that was mainly as a result of landlords applying for housing benefit on houses that did not exist. I am sure that a lot of people who are on benefits do not understand the incredible complexity, and they really do deserve help.