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Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I support the thrust of the amendment, simply on the basis that Governments leave the statute book littered with provisions that are never enacted. You do not need to be a political scientist to work out that there could be a change in government in the next few months. The House at Report is entitled to get a reasonable timeframe. I think that three months is very tight; I would not like to undertake that responsibility myself. However, the case is a powerful one, and I think that—speaking for myself—the House would settle for some assurance that this will not be just another bit of legislation that gathers dust on the shelf.