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Child Poverty Bill

My Lords, this amendment gives us the opportunity to recognise the meticulous research work done by a number of units, up and down the country, on the topic of assessing minimum income needs. The University of York, the London School of Hygiene and Loughborough come to mind, and there are others. If further research is needed or commissioned, the experience and expertise developed by those units should be recognised. This also gives me the opportunity to remember and praise the pioneering work of the namesake of my noble friend Lord Morris of Manchester, Professor Jerry Morris of the London School of Hygiene, who died a few months ago in his 100th year. Not only was he one of the first to recognise the need accurately to define minimum income standards based on need but, throughout his long life, was at the forefront of public health and epidemiological research—most famously, for his work on demonstrating the benefit of exercise in preventing coronary heart disease and the existence and importance of inequalities in health. He will be very much missed by all those involved in promoting public health.