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Welfare Reform Bill

I must apologise to noble Lords that I was unable to be here at the beginning of this debate. However, the Minister very helpfully reminded us that somebody who is a risk to others would not be expected to share accommodation, which is certainly a start. Psychiatrists have to discharge people from psychiatric hospitals into the community all the time. Let us take the case of somebody who is not exactly a risk to others but whose ongoing rehabilitation would nevertheless be incredibly badly hindered if they were moved into shared accommodation. If a psychiatrist was willing to write a letter to the effect that they could discharge this person into the community on the condition that they could have a place on their own, would that be a straightforward decision for the officer to make? Could that officer exercise their discretion? It will be very difficult for officers, other than professional psychiatrists, to assess whether this would be a disaster or very helpful. As the Minister says, it could be helpful but it honestly could be very, very unhelpful for a lot of people.