Lord Bishop of St Albans
Main Page: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Baroness Stedman-Scott
Indeed. The judgment was clear that the current situation remains unchanged, and the ruling does not change eligibility rules for receiving benefits. However, the Government recognise that they have an incompatible law on the statute book and are actively considering options.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans
My Lords, it is two years since this came in, so we have quite a lot of evidence. Will the Minister assure the House that the review is totally independent, and that we will be able to see all the working out of what is proposed and the analysis? A large number of noble Lords are deeply concerned about this. Would the Minister be willing to meet with us to discuss how we might take it forward?
Baroness Stedman-Scott
I must tell noble Lords that in every evaluation I have been involved in I have been absolutely behind an independent process. I do not know whether the department plans to have an independent evaluation, but I will certainly take that point back. As always, I am very happy to meet noble Lords to explore issues and new ideas, and obviously how these are resourced.