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Social Security (Housing Costs Special Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I have laid my regret Motion today to give the House the opportunity to discuss the issues raised in the 5th report of the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee. The committee’s report made clear in its summary that there were significant concerns with the explanatory material surrounding this statutory instrument. Money has been both paid out and withheld in opposition to the policy intention. To compound the confusion, there is a complete lack of certainty about the number and magnitude of these errors. I am sure we would all admit that the benefits system is now appallingly complicated. Trying to define how different benefits impact on each other is a task that I doubt many would undertake with enthusiasm. However, that is no reason for such a task not to be undertaken. I am glad that the department offers training sessions to welfare agencies to explain changes in the rules. I wonder whether the Minister could fill us in a little more about these sessions. How frequent are they? Are there routine refresher courses, or are they limited to the areas in which there have been new regulations? Of course, an obvious way to reduce the need for these courses would be to reduce the number of changes made to the regulations. From the committee’s report, it is apparent that the Minister's department has not met the usual standards expected in regard to secondary legislation. I wonder whether he can tell me how many pieces of legislation have been produced in recent years by the Department for Work and Pensions that correct errors or clarify confusions in earlier Acts or statutory attachments. Such unnecessary work not only for this House and its committees but also for the department and, of course, the agencies tasked with implementing the rules would be much reduced if the department got it right first time. In future, I hope that the Government will take more care. It is unfortunate that even after the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State was hauled over the coals for errors and lack of information, the Explanatory Memorandum tabled with the regulations contains trivial errors. It lacks the necessary reference to the related SSAC report, for example, although a space has clearly been left for the information to be inserted. That is a small point and one on which the Minister's office has been extremely helpful and prompt in rectifying, for which I thank him. When such mistakes are made, one can sympathise with the chairman’s evident frustration with the quality of information with which he was provided during the evidence session in January. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary indicated that she would be reviewing the relevant procedures when she answered the committee. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell us how that review has gone. Have any changes been made to stop these sorts of problems happening again? I wonder whether the Minister will be able to give us a little more information on the detail of the errors which this SI is to rectify. In January it was thought that between 50 and 100 households could have taken advantage of the loophole but that none actually did. Is that still the case, or has any further information come to light? The cases of underpayment are much worse. A cumulative total of £17.2 million was suggested in the evidence session. That is a significant sum and one which was much exacerbated by the length of time it has taken the department to correct the error. Can the Minister give us an estimation of how much the extra statutory scheme will cost before all the money has been paid and how long does the Minister expect that to take? Will recipients be expected to apply for their entitlement or will the department do the work of seeking them out and giving them the money? This entire episode has not reflected well on the Government. Although I am quite certain that the wider world will remain sublimely uninterested in such technical failings, I hope that the Minister can assure me that such a consideration will not prevent the necessary steps being taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future. I beg to move.