UK Parliament / Open data

Welfare Reform and Work Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply. I should not worry too much about getting Box notes confused. I once read out a Box note that said “Don’t go there”. It is tucked away somewhere in Hansard, but I will not tell noble Lords where.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake, for dealing with his amendments. The proposition he advanced is entirely reasonable—that new supply, which he said was less than 2% of the total, could be freed up from these provisions. It is a pity that the Government could not respond positively to that.

So far as the rest of the response was concerned, I am not sure that the Minister fundamentally dealt with the issue around the private rented sector and the effect of affordability, and that there is a widening gap between what the LHA reduces in terms of support and rent levels. In some respects that is forcing quite significant movements out of the capital, out of initially

lower-cost areas into even lower-cost areas, and the consequences of that for people’s lives, lifestyles, their community, schooling for their kids and so many other issues is quite profound. I regret that the Government are not addressing that issue. However, perhaps in fairness to the Minister I ought to read the record, supplemented as appropriate by any correspondence she feels in retrospect it might be helpful to have. Having said that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

768 cc257-8 

Session

2015-16

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber
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