Lord Best (CB): My Lords, in relation to the evidence
that the Minister mentions, can he give us an update on the consultation with
me and others that he promised when noble Lords rejected the so-called bedroom
tax repeatedly and firmly? When will that research programme be the subject of
consultation with us? When is it likely to be concluded? Will he accept the
evidence if it shows that what he calls the “scare stories” turn out to be true
and that a good deal of disruption and hardship is caused by this measure?
Lord Freud: My Lords, as the noble Lord knows, an
elaborate programme of research is going on around this measure and will take
place over a two-year period. Regular reports will be provided. I believe that
the first interim reports are coming out in the spring. I will, of course, be
pleased to talk to the noble Lord about the research and will give a great deal
of attention to what we find. If there are concerns, we will match them. As
noble Lords will know, we have made changes to the discretionary housing
payments system this year to reflect some of the early concerns that have
developed and we have found an extra £35 million for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment