Govt set to bulldoze welfare reforms through Lords

The government looks set to force through its controversial welfare reforms without giving the House of Lords a chance to readdress the amendments it made.

Those amendments were reversed on Wedsnesday night in the House of Commons and mean that cancer patients claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) will face means-testing.

In all the government overturned all seven changes made by the upper chamber and will now invoke the financial privilege rule to force its Welfare Reform Bill through Parliament.

This procedure was originally intended to stop Peers blocking tax and spending decisions made by MPs, but it has angered many in the Lords who will be prevented from reintroducing the changes the next time they see the Bill.

In all, Ministers reversed amendments that:

• Excluded child benefit from the £26,000 cap on total benefits to households,

• Do not charge single parents to access child maintenance if they take reasonable steps to reach a settlement,

• Exempted cancer patients from means-testing of Employment Support Allowance,

• Extended eligibility for ESA prior to means-testing from one to two years,

• Allowed young disabled people to continue claiming National Insurance contribution-based ESA,

• Exempted social tenants with one spare room from "under-occupancy" penalties.

However, it has emerged that the means-testing for cancer patients will only apply to those claiming the work-related version of ESA.

Those deemed to ill to do any work-related activity after their work capability assessment will be placed in the support group and exempt from means-testing.