Welfare Reform Bill

I thank the Minister for his detailed replies to our amendments—they were helpful—and I hope that, in proposing them, we have helped firm up some of the control ideas that the DWP might have had in any case. I am happy to accept most of what he said on those points. On the fundamental principle behind Amendment No. 76, I am not reassured in the slightest. As I feared, and as I summed up what I thought was the position in the Commons, no decision has been made and the Government want to contract out the functions whenever they like. I do not see that having the ability to look at unamendable regulations—