The Commons have rejected the Lords amendment on ESA and Universal Credit cuts once more by 309 to 274 (2 March 2016).
On 29 February, in place of outright rejection of cuts to ESA and UC the Lords introduced two motions requiring both an impact assessment of the effects of cuts to ESA/UC and that regulations cutting ESA WRAG and its UC equivalent would need to be approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
In rejecting this proposal Priti Patel, Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions) said these were wrecking amendments:
“I will, if I may, move on to the debate in the other place. I can report that, since we last met, the other place has chosen not to insist on its amendments 8 and 9, which removed the changes to the ESA WRAG and the UC LCW element. However, it has agreed what is in effect a wrecking amendment, because it could in practice prevent the provisions from coming into force, despite the fact that my noble Friend and colleague Lord Freud committed to several additional measures to help those affected by the change, which addressed a number of the specific requests raised in the Lords.”
View debate on They Work for You website
The Bill ping pongs back to the Lords on Monday 7 March.