Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill

Countess of Mar Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2013 Lords Chamber

We need to look at and use some of the other evidence that we will get about households below average income, which will be published in June or July. I hope that that evidence will inform the discussion that will happen on the comprehensive spending review to make sure that we are making sensible arrangements and decisions for the following CSR period from 2015 to 2018. In addition, we should use an annual report to Parliament to work with our local authority colleagues, as this amendment suggests, to learn what they are doing by way of services for working-age families in their areas. My intelligence from local authorities is that they are already struggling to provide services in that department, and we need to rely on them, particularly in relation to changes in community tax benefit and the abolition of discretionary grants under the Social Fund, which was abolished, as noble Lords know—

[The Countess of Mar]

We are at Third Reading, and the noble Lord has spoken for 16 minutes. He might believe that we have actually got the point. Is he going to be very much longer?

[Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope]

No. I have two remaining points to make before I sit down. First, we have learnt over the past few days that Mr Alan Milburn, the chairman of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, has made it clear that he thinks that income is important for low-income families when trying to deal with child poverty. Finally, we need to invite the Social Security Advisory Committee to look at all this between now and July.

A lot of work needs to be done, and an annual report would help to inform that work. It is not safe to allow this Bill to continue into its later stages until we are sure that we have some way in which to track its progress and can ensure that those at the bottom of the low-income scales do not get hurt as a result of its provisions. I beg to move.