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Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, in moving Amendment 68, I shall also speak to Amendments 69 to 71. In Committee debates on the Bill in this House, there was broad support for ensuring that the intended structure of the right to control was more clearly signalled in the Bill. The original wording of Clause 33 was deliberately broad to allow trailblazing authorities the flexibility to be innovative and to test the best ways of making the right to control work. It would have been sufficient to realise our commitments, but perhaps did not lay out those commitments as clearly as it might. Having listened carefully to the debates in Committee, we recognise that there is a balance to be struck between flexibility and clarity, which is why I bring this amendment before noble Lords today. The amendments are designed to retain flexibility in the delivery of the right to control while reflecting clearly the commitments made in the welfare reform White Paper. It clearly indicates in primary legislation that the disabled person will be at the centre of the right-to-control process. As noble Lords have said, we have worked closely with the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell of Surbiton, in developing these amendments. Once again, my noble friend Lord McKenzie and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Freud, and the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas of Winchester, for demonstrating their support for the amendments. This kind of consensus underlines the importance that we all place on this policy. Amendment 68 sets out the key components of the right to control process. In particular, it is a better reflection of our intentions in three key areas. First, the amended text makes it clear that authorities will be required to inform a disabled person of their right to control and the amount of money that is available for their support. This is entirely in keeping with our White Paper commitments, and will ensure that all disabled people in the trailblazing areas who are eligible for the right to control will be given the opportunity to access it. Secondly, the amendment reflects our White Paper commitment to partnership working. It makes it clear that authorities will be required to work with the disabled person throughout the support-planning and review processes. This will ensure that the disabled person is truly at the centre of the process and that their support plan reflects their individual needs and ambitions. Finally, the amendment reiterates the Government’s belief that disabled people should have choice and control over their support, whether they take a direct payment, choose to receive authority-commissioned services, or a mixture of the two. The amended text makes it clear that, where a disabled person allows an authority to arrange all or some of their support, the authority will be required to follow the individual’s support plan where reasonably practicable. As the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, said in the Committee debate on this clause, it is important that we get this right. As with all these things, we await the evaluation of the trailblazers, but I hope noble Lords will agree that this amendment is a real step in the right direction. I beg to move.