Welfare Reform Green Paper

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. Yes, we are prepared to consider the issues to which he has referred, particularly in relation to the permitted hours rule and the notional earnings rule. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform has indicated that we are examining those areas, and I am happy to talk to him and other right hon. and hon. Friends who have an interest in this matter. I remind him that one of the important parts of the pathways to work schemes, which have helped enormously, has been the £40 return-to-work credit, which has helped bridge the gap between benefits and work. It was entirely remiss of me—I should have paid proper tribute to my predecessors as Secretary of State, some of whom I can see in the Chamber. In particular, my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) made some of the important early decisions, which were right and proper. I want to pay tribute to their contribution, too.