Paul Rowen (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Rochdale, Liberal Democrat)

I beg to move amendment No. 50, in clause 36, page 35, line 21, at end insert—

‘(3A) The results and finding of all pilot schemes must be published in separate reports—

(a) every six months while the pilot scheme is in operation, and

(b) at the conclusion of every pilot scheme.’.

Like the previous amendment, this is a probing amendment. I seek a little more information from the Minister about the operation of pilot schemes and, in particular, how the results and findings of such schemes will be processed and published. If a pilot scheme is operated, the results should be made available. The amendment seeks to ensure that the results and findings are published every six months when a pilot scheme is in operation and at the conclusion of every pilot scheme. I should be grateful if the Minister could tell us how the Government intend to operate any pilot scheme.

James Plaskitt (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions; Warwick & Leamington, Labour)

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Rochdale for moving his probing amendment. Before looking at the effect of his amendment, let me deal with his other point and outline the purpose of piloting. Piloting allows policies and programmes to be tested, adjusted and evaluated before decisions are made as to whether they are applied in general. The clause enables the commission to pilot in circumstances that will benefit from that approach.

I shall give an example. We will be using the piloting powers to prove the effectiveness of using deductions from earnings orders as the primary method of collecting child maintenance from non-resident parents in employment, and they will allow us to test that method for up to two years. Pilots will be able to operate in specific areas and in relation to specified types of people, or to people selected through either specified criteria or on a sampling basis.

The amendment would compel the commission to produce six-monthly and final reports on any pilot. Although I do not disagree with the main thrust of the proposal, which is to publish the results of pilots, the hon. Gentleman’s wish that it should be done on a six-monthly basis would not achieve what he wants, and I shall explain why. Pilots can be conceived and designed for a wide range of reasons, such as considering the implementation of new services or the impact of a measure. The wide nature and possible scope of pilots would make it difficult to ensure that they were all able to meet the six-monthly reporting regime. Furthermore, six-monthly reports would be of  little value, because the analysis of the findings would need to be carried out from such an early stage in the pilot that it would be unlikely to produce results of significant or sufficient quality. The most effective analysis can be gained only from cases that have had a sufficient journey through the system, allowing us to assess the full impact of changes in circumstances—for example, the impact of job change in the case of the direct earnings order pilot, which I mentioned earlier.

The commission, in consultation with the Department, will determine how best to report on research. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Bill already requires the commission to report on all activities in each and every financial year. I emphasise that we share the hon. Gentleman’s concern about the value of publishing the results of pilots, but they are more effective if they are allowed to run their natural course in an appropriate length of time. The hon. Gentleman’s wish to have a fixed, regular reporting period would not produce reports of much light; they would probably impede the process. We want pilots to be of value and to give us real results, which they will. They will be published at the appropriate time, when the pilot has naturally expired.

For those reasons, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw the amendment.

Paul Rowen (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Rochdale, Liberal Democrat)

In view of the Minister’s statement, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.