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If child maintenance is paid, we would encourage the benefit recipient to report it To the extent that they do not, obviously some of the pressures on Jobcentre Plus that my noble friend mentioned will be diminished. But that is a consequence of the redesigned system and we will have to make it work. As I have said, Jobcentre Plus is confident that it has the capacity to tackle that issue. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, is looking equally sceptical, but these are the data that I have and I see no reason why the system cannot be made to operate.
Having said all that, I am sure that I have satisfied each of the points that have been raised and I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.
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10.15 pm
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: My Lords, on lump sum payments, I cannot resist quoting Lord Justice May—who, as the Minister knows, is a very distinguished Court of Appeal judge—in a recent case involving the rules governing the treatment of a lump sum payment of child maintenance. He said that they were so complex that they were “obscure to the point of near darkness”. The Minister is wrong about the ability of Jobcentre Plus to do this and I hope he will go away and carefully cross-examine the interlocutors who bring him this information because it is a real problem.
The other thing is that it is not safe to say that 90 per cent of the client group is outwith the 40 per cent ceiling, because lump sum payments come underneath that, as do the different payments for different families from different non-resident fathers. I ask the Minister—and I know he will do this, because he is conscientious—to go away and ask the people who have been briefing him to give him some further and better particulars about both of these points. Both the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, who is not without experience in these matters, and I share misgivings that require further investigation.
Lord McKenzie of Luton: My Lords, would it help the noble Lord if I undertook to get those people who brief me to write me a fine letter with more detail on this matter that I can distribute to noble Lords?
Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: My Lords, if that can be shared around, I will happily settle for that. On that basis, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
[Amendments Nos. 11 and 12 not moved.]
Baroness Crawley: My Lords, I beg to move that consideration on Report be now adjourned.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
Broads Authority Bill
The Bill was brought from the Commons, read a first time and referred to the Examiners.
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
The Bill was returned from the Commons with the Lords amendments agreed to.
- House adjourned at 10.16 pm.
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