New Clause 1
Welfare Reform Bill
12:00 pm
Paul Rowen (Rochdale, Liberal Democrat)
I understand why the hon. Gentleman tabled the amendment. He has done so because of the long time it takes to hear appeals. However, in seeking to deal with one problem he would be creating another.
The solution to the problem is to ensure that CMEC, the new body, deals with such matters a lot quicker than the Child Support Agency currently does. The information that a court or an appeal tribunal has to deal with cannot be constantly changing. There must be a fixed reference point at which all information is put before a tribunal, at which point that becomes the information that the tribunal is dealing with. I suggest to the hon. Gentleman and the Minister that the solution to the problem—and there is a problem—is not to allow late information, but to tackle the time it takes to consider appeals through the tribunal.