I’ve been invited to give evidence on the welfare clauses at a session next Thursday. I’ve taken the opportunity to improve the paper – or at least to expand it, though that’s not the same thing. Here it is.
The basic arguments are similar, but I’ve tried to go through the clauses in more detail. I’ve benefitted from exchanges with Gareth Morgan, Jon Shaw of CPAG, and several organisations dealing with disability. I can’t claim to be confident about any of the interpretations, and that in itself is a source of concern; wherever there are doubts, those doubts are liable to expose vulnerable people to problems, uncertainty and loss of security.
Further note: The transcript of the evidence session has been published and is here. I have to apologise that my contributions are so frequently convoluted and opaque. I can only say, in my defence, that so are the draft clauses I was talking about – but I really must try to talk in plainer English in future.