Clause 10
Welfare Reform Bill
5:45 pm
Danny Alexander (Shadow Minister and Disability Spokesperson, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. I am probing the Government’s intentions, particularly on how they intend to deal with cases when someone has a good cause that has made it impossible for them to notify the Department within the five-day period specified in the regulations. The way in which the work-focused interview regulations are drawn up suggests that no matter how good the cause, if someone fails to notify what that good cause is within five days they will be subject to a sanction. That seems to be problematic, to say the least.