Clause 20 - Commencement
Social Security Fraud Bill [Lords]
6:00 pm
Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 57, in page 23, line 17, at end insert—
`(4) The provisions of this Act shall lapse in its entirety three years after the date on which it receives Royal Assent.'.
The amendment is a further opportunity for us to tease out from the Government how they will measure the effectiveness of the Bill, when enacted. We have proposed that it lapses after three years. Some of us think that there is much common sense in a lot of legislation lapsing after three years.
The Government have enacted several initiatives to curb fraud, and the Bill is about the 43rd. There is conflicting evidence about how effective such measures have been, and we want to ensure that there is a mechanism that concentrates minds and measures the Bill's effectiveness. Suggesting that such powers are likely to lapse within three years could concentrate minds powerfully on ensuring that the measures that we support under the Bill are implemented effectively. An audit would be taken of their effectiveness and there would be a drive towards ensuring that, by the end of the third year, the work related to bringing an end to fraud was of such a scale that there was a need to continue with the Department's powers under the Bill. The Government would therefore have to return in three years' time and ask for the Act to continue.
Will the Under-Secretary explain how the Government are planning to measure the effectiveness of the Bill, when enacted? We will then consider whether to withdraw the amendment and whether three years is sufficient for common sense to prevail.