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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Lord German writes… A benefits system that works: the Welfare Reform Bill in the House of Lords
January 8, 2012 11:55 AM
• [Jan 06] Mike German writes: AS Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Party Committee on Work and Pensions the Welfare Reform Bill has absorbed most of the past year. It is now in the final stages of passage through the House of Lords. There has been some negative press surrounding the Bill, which is clouding aspects that have been long term goals of the Liberal Democrats.
. . In the Lords the Liberal Democrats have been working hard to ensure poorest and most vulnerable are protected, because we understand that we cannot balance the books on the backs of the poorest. We have pressed hard to make sure that people with degenerative illnesses can be reassessed to guarantee they keep their ESA. We have had substantial concessions on childcare and we are working on making sure disabled people, foster carers and other groups are not affected by the government's new under occupancy housing changes.
The principles of Universal Credit are fundamentally Liberal Democrat and will continue to protect those who need protecting and support those who can move into work, encouraging a fair and responsible system. We have much to be proud of in always making work pay and meeting the challenge of lifting more people out of poverty than the last government did in its whole term.
There are tough decisions to make elsewhere in the benefit system but we should never lose sight of the need to reduce poverty in our country.
* Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Party Committee on Work and Pensions.
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