Welfare Reform Bill

I agree entirely. I was about to come to the wider Government objectives that will be achieved by the Bill, but I did not want to comment particularly on poverty, homelessness and social exclusion. My hon. Friend has done so on my behalf, so I shall focus my brief remarks on incentives to work and on the disincentive that the proponents of this restriction suggest occurs. They suggest that if the restriction did not exist, those on housing benefit would have an incentive to stay out of work because they would get better accommodation than they would have if they were in low paid employment. However, that view fails to recognise reality in a number of respects. First, the restriction affects those in work and, in particular, those in low paid work who will receive the shared room rate as part of their housing benefit. Secondly, the restriction has not been effective. The research shows clearly that it has not been effective in encouraging claimants to enter shared accommodation. The proportion of young people in shared accommodation has declined since its introduction. The shortfalls in the shared room rate concept exacerbate hardship for young people, including those who are employed and facing enormous difficulties in sustaining employment. The restriction has created a whole generation of what we term the ““hidden homeless””—young people living on the sofas of friends and relatives. The lack of stable accommodation will threaten the employment and the employment prospects of the young people concerned, and the evidence shows that quite clearly. A whole series of negative consequences have occurred because of the introduction of the restriction. My amendment would do a number of things. First, it would maintain the principle enshrined in the shared room rate that the Government feel is important in the new housing benefit regime. It would also allow those who have reached the age of maturity—the amendment sets that at 21—to obtain the more settled accommodation that I hope would provide them with the springboard for better employment prospects and to realise their ambitions. That is what the Government say is their overwhelming objective for young people. The amendment would achieve the objectives that the Government have set, and I commend it to the House.