Welfare Reform Bill

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb). His speech took me back to the philosophy lectures that I used to attend on John Stuart Mill. Today, he has given us a lesson that I can only describe as John Stuart Mill-plus. I welcome the Welfare Reform Bill, because it is a further step in the development of a more proactive welfare state—the hon. Member for Northavon calls it coercive; I think that it is proactive—that is more personalised and more supportive of the needs of individuals. At a time when political parties are sometimes accused of converging on some issues, this Bill is a clear indication of the fundamental difference in approach between this Government and the official Opposition. The underlying philosophy of this Labour reform is to ensure that our welfare state is responsive to the individual's needs and seeks to help them overcome some of those problems. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on making a speech that was full of fine and warm words, but the Opposition still see the welfare state as a problem rather than as a vehicle by which we can support people. If there is any doubt about that, we have only to look at the comments made just before Christmas by the Leader of the Opposition, when he castigated and insulted people on benefits in Britain by asking:"““How do we stop them turning into Karen Matthews?””" That attitude still prevails within the Opposition. The Bill proposes more support in return for personal responsibility. Although some organisations have raised concerns about elements of the package, they fundamentally agree with the principle of offering more support to those who need it. Since the publication of the Green Paper last year, however, the landscape has changed, and there is an increasing chorus of concern from those who challenge the need for reform at a time of global downturn. We must accept that in times of uncertainty there are those who argue that we should hold on to what we have and not attempt to change. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North (Mr. Rooney) has indicated, however, we should not accept that view, because it was prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s, when we needed the benefits system to change, but that did not happen, which resulted in the abandonment of millions of people to a life on benefit—frankly, we are still dealing with the legacy of that approach, even in the 21st century. Over the course of the progress of this Bill through Parliament, I hope that Ministers will take the opportunity to challenge that somewhat defeatist attitude, which would have the Government make no changes during the current downturn. I hope that they will say to those who promote that approach that they are doing unemployed people and those on other benefits absolutely no favours, if they continue to think that we cannot improve on what we have in place already by introducing the changes in the Bill. When people are losing their jobs, surely we should not cut support. Surely it is important to invest in people and not to talk about real cuts in the DWP budget, which the Tories would make—their idea of reform of the welfare state is now, as it has always been, about salami-slicing benefits and reducing investment in training and other support. I welcome the additional investment to ensure that people return to work as quickly as possible, particularly if they have been out of work for more than six months. I want to raise three specific points in the short time available to me. In principle, the inclusion in the Bill of joint registration of birth is a laudable aim and one that recognises, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has highlighted, the responsibility of two parents. I know that many fathers' groups, which sometimes feel that fathers are marginalised, welcome it, but I want the Minister who is winding up the debate to consider the ““what if”” questions. What if the mother does not want to or cannot declare who the father is and is not in one of the excluded categories? What if she identifies a man who says that he is not the father and he refuses to take a paternity test? Who will be responsible for chasing that? Will it be the registrar or the DWP? What will happen on day 42 if there is no resolution and the deadline for registration has been reached? Will child benefit still be paid, and will the child trust fund still be activated? Will the child still be registered, even if the mother is the only parent who appears on the birth certificate? The principle is sound, but I am not yet convinced that the implementation will be as straightforward as it might appear to be.