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Welfare Reform Bill

I am grateful for the noble Lord’s clarification. The noble Lord, Lord Freud, referred to somebody’s right to leave and return to their own country unimpeded. That is right, but we should remember and recognise, as did the noble Lord, that the provisions kick in only when there has been wilful default and every other avenue for collecting money from the non-resident parent has been unsuccessfully explored and where the individual has the resources to deal with their commitments. The individual has it absolutely within their power to pay up and to regain their travel documentation or their driving licence. If they think that their assessment is wrong, they can appeal to the magistrates’ court, which stays the proceedings. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, complained about bringing this back a year later. We said when we debated the provision in relation to the child maintenance Bill that we reserved the right to return to it. Effectively, we conceded the point only as a means of wrapping up the other issues that were still on the table. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, whom I see smiling, will remember our exchanges on that. We have never conceded this point. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, said that because Section 6 compulsion has gone, the organisation should be better able administratively to get to the courts. However, the other side of that coin should be an acceptance that CMEC will be more on top of getting the sums right and making sure that the collection procedures are as powerful as they can be. Therefore, there will be fewer residual cases to which the provisions might have to be applied. While all sides of the House can, I believe, agree on the need for the commission to take robust enforcement action where arrangements to pay child maintenance break down, I acknowledge—it has been repeated today—the differences of opinion among noble Lords about the specific measures detailed in Clause 42 and, in particular, their effectiveness in securing compliance with child maintenance obligations. I hope that I can seek to allay any such concerns by accepting the amendments in principle and thereby giving Parliament the ability to review the travel authorisation provisions in the same way as already provided for in relation to the driving licence provisions by Clause 43. While the wording proposed in the noble Lord’s amendment is adequate for this purpose, I should be grateful if he did not press it at this stage so that I can return to the House with a more suitable form of amendment at Third Reading. The amendment that we would look to introduce would ensure that a report on the operation of the driving licence and travel authorisation powers must be put before Parliament within six months of the end of a two-year review period. Based on the success of the measures, the Secretary of State would have the option of making the administrative system permanent or reverting to the existing court-based powers. Any decision to maintain the administrative system would need to be made by an order subject to the affirmative procedure and noble Lords would thereby have an opportunity to debate the success of the measures prior to a permanent administrative system being introduced. The driving licence and travel authorisation provisions are two significantly different forms of enforcement with potentially very different impacts on the persons affected. It is therefore right that the piloting aspects be provided for in separate clauses. This will be the crucial difference between what we propose to bring back and what the noble Lord has tabled. It would enable, if required, a decision to be made in one way in respect of travel documentation and another way in respect of driving licences. There is some doubt as to whether that could be achieved by the existing wording, so it would be the essential difference in what we would bring back. I am satisfied that piloting the two provisions separately may enhance Parliament’s ability properly to review the outcome and to decide whether the commission should retain such powers permanently. As has been referred to, the Government have until now resisted such an amendment. We consistently said that it was unnecessary, given that the primary aim of the driving licence pilot was to test the impact on road safety and implications for third parties, whereas the travel authorisation provisions contain no such risk. We stand by that view. However, we recognise the secondary objective of the pilot—the noble Lord referred to it—which is to measure how effective the administrative powers are in securing maintenance payments. On that basis, I am content that the travel authorisation powers should also be made subject to a pilot. I do so in part in recognition of the long way that noble Lords opposite have come on this issue. It has been an interesting journey, from outright condemnation of the administrative approach during the passage of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill, to supporting the Commons earlier in the passage of this Bill and now to making the proposal before us today. However, it would be churlish to press that point. While perhaps not always a coherent approach, I welcome noble Lords’ movement towards the Government’s position and so am content to make the change to the Bill that they propose. We are happy to move closer to their position on this point. On the basis that I commit to returning at Third Reading with a new amendment, I hope that the noble Lord will feel able not to press his amendment.