§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that a specific budget should be established for research into the adequacy of income support and other benefits. [HL308]
§ The parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)We do not believe there should be a specific budget. The department has a large programme of research to meet the information needs of Ministers, the department and its agencies. Priorities are reviewed annually and a programme is devised to assist the department in the development, implementation and evaluation of policy.