Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, and my noble friends Lord Listowel and Lord Northbourne for their support. I thank also the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, who is such an expert in these matters. She raised the issue of not opening the door to the big ticket cost of having to shift jobseeker’s allowance and income support rates from the age of 25 to 21 as a consequence of allowing this amendment. The Government do not have to change all the benefits because this one stands out in need of reform. It would be possible to change one benefit at a time if that is required by the marketplace. The noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, made the point that local authorities have discretion to make extra payments to vulnerable housing benefit claimants. It is extremely important that good advice is given to local authorities to make full use of this discretionary housing payments system. I am very pleased to hear from the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, that such guidance is being prepared. As president of the Local Government Association I know that I should not support ring-fenced funds—I would get into big trouble—and it is probably not a route for this problem that would lead to a satisfactory conclusion. I am grateful for the response from the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, but it does not encapsulate the realities of the marketplace. While it would be good for people to choose shared accommodation in preference to a self-contained flat and therefore become less dependent on the higher level of benefit that they would have to accept in a self-contained apartment, the realities are that the people we are talking about will not find flats to share with young professionals and others which they can enter. It is not an alternative or an option. The alternative is homelessness or living on other people’s sofas and moving from house to house, which is the predicament in which we place so many people already. This is a matter of considerable significance and, despite the late hour—