Baroness Sherlock (Lab)

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Sikka’s Amendment 90 would require the independent oversight of the EVM to be carried out by a panel of people, at least half of whom would be elected by recipients of benefits in the scope of the measure. First, I can clarify for the benefit of the Committee that the independent person in the Bill could be an individual, a group of persons or a panel. However, in appointing the person, we want to be clear that the Government will follow the direction of the Governance Code on Public Appointments throughout the process. In accordance with that code, it is for the Secretary of State to appoint an appropriate person or persons to the role of independent overseer, as set out in Clause 75, because, as the code says: “The ultimate responsibility for appointments and thus the selection of those appointed rests with Ministers who are accountable to Parliament for their decisions and actions”. However, the process will be overseen by the Commissioner for Public Appointments to ensure that it is robust and fair; this is in line with precedent. My noble friend accused us of allowing some forms of politics to invade these decisions. I must say that the Secretary of State has a track record of appointing well-respected and experienced people to review the DWP’s work, even when that kind of oversight is not required. For example, in December she appointed Liz Sayce, the former chief executive of Disability Rights UK and formerly chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee, to lead the independent review into overpayment of the carer’s allowance; she also wanted Charlie Mayfield to lead a joint DWP and Department for Business and Trade review into the factors behind the growing levels of inactivity. I can assure the Committee that we will similarly look for relevant and independent expertise in this area. Clearly, the independent reviewer will have the discretion to engage with not only benefit claimants but any other key stakeholders whom they may consider appropriate, and we do not need to legislate for them to exercise that discretion. The review must consider the extent to which the Secretary of State has complied with the legislation and the code of practice. The independent overseer will then consider the extent to which the Government have complied with the many safeguards outlined in the legislation and the code. So, the independent review is in the interests of all those who receive a payment for a relevant benefit and will help ensure that their rights are protected. Amendment 91A in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, would require the independent reviewer to include in their annual report any impact that the EVM may have on vulnerable persons. Although I obviously agree that the DWP needs to consider carefully the vulnerabilities that our customers may have, I do not think that this amendment is necessary given the nature of the measure and the existing safeguards, including the oversight and reporting provisions. Again, I remind the Committee that this measure will actually help some of our customers, including those who are vulnerable. We know that people make genuine mistakes; access to this important data will help us find those mistakes sooner and enable us to correct them. Detecting overpayments earlier will help prevent claimants accruing large debts to the department in cases where an overpayment is recoverable. The key issue is that this is just a data-requiring power. It will simply require a bank to share limited information where benefit-receiving accounts meet the eligibility criteria specified in a DWP notice. The process of a bank sharing data through this measure will have no direct impact on the person’s claim of vulnerabilities. The measure is not about targeting anyone; it is about ensuring that claimants are paid the correct amount of benefit. It is only then that, under the DWP’s long-standing business-as-usual processes, people may experience changes to their benefit award—for example, where, following further inquiries, it is determined that the payment is not correct or that they do not meet the eligibility rules for the payment. A major aspect underpinning the issues raised by the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, is a broader question as to how the DWP supports vulnerable people in those processes. Layers of support already exist in the DWP to ensure that customers who are vulnerable or have complex needs have the right support put in place. DWP staff regularly conduct vulnerability checks and are proactive on this; when we do identify vulnerable individuals, we ensure that they receive the necessary support and adjustment. We have specially trained staff to support our most vulnerable customers, and they have access to a wide range of guidance to support them. Across our various benefits and services, colleagues record any support needs provided by the customer to ensure that, whenever a claimant speaks to the DWP, it is aware of how best to help them. As I have already set out, in cases of fraud and error, a DWP staff member will be the one making decisions affecting benefit entitlement. Finally, I remind the Committee that the independent reviewer will report annually on how the powers have been exercised in line with the legislation and how effective they have been at identifying incorrect payments. They will be able to cover any issues they deem relevant, including the impacts the measure is having and what that means for DWP customers. Asking the independent reviewer to assess impacts on vulnerability would, by necessity, take the scope of the review far broader than the EVM, as it would need to focus on wider parts of DWP business. To accept this amendment would therefore fundamentally change the scope of the annual review. Lastly, I understand what the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, is trying to achieve with Amendment 91B, but I do not believe it is necessary. The legislation already allows the Secretary of State to disclose information to the independent reviewer for the purpose of the reviews under new Section 121DD, and I assure the noble Lord that the DWP will of course work openly and collaboratively with the independent reviewer. We will provide them with the information requested and work with them to help identify the information they need to complete their review, sharing this under the existing provisions. Should any incentive be needed, if the independent reviewer did not consider that they had received all the information they needed, the report they published and laid before Parliament would no doubt reflect this. It would be clear for Parliament to see and scrutinise it and hold the Government to account on it. However, I am confident that that situation will not arise because our deterrent will be quite enough. Nevertheless, to provide further assurance to the Committee that the Secretary of State will provide everything relevant, I am happy to commit to make this clear in the code of practice for the measure, but I would rather not legislate unnecessarily. To close, I know that the noble Lord knows that the inclusion of this oversight matters to the whole Committee; it matters to me as much as it matters to him. The Government have not resisted calls for transparency and have a strong track record of working openly with independent reviewers, such as the independent review of carer’s allowance overpayments. Since the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, mentioned that Amendment 91B is his final amendment, I want to say that I very much take his amendments in the constructive spirit in which they are intended. This is what the House of Lords Committee is for—to make sure that we pursue the aims of the Bill and that we do so in the most constructive and appropriate way possible. I look forward to carrying on engaging with him. For now, I hope that my noble friend Lord Sikka, whom I am sure I will see in future, will feel able to withdraw his amendment.