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

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that very full answer. I should make it clear, as I hope I did in my earlier remarks, that he and his department have been immensely helpful in this process. Like the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, I acknowledge that this initiative was welcome and that very few people who had to heart the concerns of people who had lost their jobs would think that the initiative was poor. Clearly it was a very difficult period and there was a lot of fear around, so the package was appropriate for the time. However, as a result of the rush and the urgency, some of the processes were less than satisfactory, which I think the Minister has acknowledged in practice. We have learnt quite a lot about the Dog and Duck from the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, which is one aspect of the matter, but the real lesson is the importance of keeping a grip on these rushed initiatives. If these things become too loose in an overly complicated benefit system, you can lose control very quickly. I yield to no one in my admiration for Sir Leigh Lewis of the DWP, who I think is an excellent Permanent Secretary, but I think that he would have to acknowledge that Homer nodded a little on this. When there is a rush to get something in, it is important that we remember to ensure that we keep things as tight as possible. That is the main point that I would like to make after this rather interesting discussion. As I said at the beginning of the debate, I moved this Motion to have a useful discussion, which I think we have had. On that basis, I beg leave to withdraw the Motion. Motion withdrawn.