Member

I reiterate that the DWP could have developed a mechanism for sharing this information, launched it with a big-bang approach and expected businesses just to adopt and adapt to it. That would allow much more information to be shared with Parliament today. However, we want to ensure that the rollout of these measures is as smooth and effective as possible and to minimise the cost to business as much as possible. We therefore decided to adopt a test-and-learn approach. For EVM, that means working with a small number of banks and financial institutions initially, identifying any possible areas for concern and allowing them to be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible before slowly rolling out to additional financial institutions. However, it is not possible to do that until the legislation has been passed, empowering the DWP to request this information and relevant businesses to return it. There is therefore a limit to how much I can answer the noble Viscount’s questions before the Bill is passed.