Clause 29
1:00 pm
Paul Rowen (Rochdale, Liberal Democrat)
I agree with the hon. Gentleman. There are two scenarios. In the previous clause, we dealt with a situation in which an authority is not willing to allow direct payments to be introduced. When it comes to clause 29, where we are talking about relevant services, the question is how we ensure that the various packages are available. As I have said, the process will not be appropriate for everyone—not everyone will want to access direct payments—but we must ensure that where there are circumstances in which someone needs to do something, the Minister, through the pilots and hopefully on to the general, has the wherewithal to ensure that that happens. I look forward to the Minister’s response.