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Welfare Reform Bill

It is difficult for me to speak with absolute confidence in respect of what my right hon. Friend said, because I have not looked at the precise words, but he may have been referring to the reintroduction of the earnings link in the Pensions Act 2007. The 2.5 per cent. commitment is a non-statutory commitment, but it is of course carried forward in the amendment. The hon. Member for Northavon raised some questions about failed pilot schemes. He was probably alluding to the debate on the previous group of amendments, in which we discussed the effective piloting of the lone parents sanctions regime. It is worth noting that the numbers of lone parents on lone parent benefit continue to fall, despite the recession, and that is with a more rigorous sanctions regime in place. So we have a degree of confidence that the principle of sanctions will work in this case. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) for her speech, as I am grateful for the work that she has done on campaigning for this change. She not only reinforced the importance of the campaign as a whole, but spoke up for the 3,000 of her constituents who will benefit from the change and demonstrated her continuing personal commitment to campaign for them. My right hon. Friend asked the obvious question about timing. I cannot give her as exact a response as she would like. We are committed to making the change as soon as possible, but we are unable to commit to an exact time frame without first completing the detailed work needed to assess the practicality and costs involved, and that requires us to consult with the local authorities to ensure that the change is introduced properly and effectively. For example, changes are needed to the 380 local authority IT systems and to DWP computer systems, including those that provide the essential link with the pensioners at the point of claim. References are also made to the name in a wide range of forms and leaflets. We have already begun the process and I hope that my right hon. Friend and others will understand and accept that, as yet, we cannot set out a timetable, but the commitment is there and the work has started. The hon. Member for Forest of Dean asked a series of questions. He is right that when we pilot and we find enough evidence that something works, we should get on with it. On the other hand, if something is not working well, we should stop and, when it is next legislatively convenient, remove the powers. That is what we have done in this case, and he will see examples in which we assess quickly and get on with rolling things out more widely. I was interested in the exchange around amendment 16 and can conclude only that we now have all-party agreement that we need to reprioritise annually managed expenditure into departmental expenditure limits in order to fund that. I have responded to the main questions on uprating that the hon. Gentleman asked in response to what the hon. Member for Northavon said, and I will not be drawn into commenting on carrot and sticks at this point. I urge the House to agree the amendments. Lords amendment 1 agreed to. Lords amendments 3 to 27 agreed to, with Commons privileges waived in respect of Lords amendments 11, 12, 19 to 21, 23 and 25.