Emergency legislation to protect taxpayers from a £130 million bill after the Poundland "slave labour" case cleared the House of Commons on the 19th March.
The Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill was introduced by ministers after the Court of Appeal ruled the Government had failed to provide enough information about its plans to cut benefits for anyone not taking part in its work programme.
University of Birmingham geology graduate CaIt Reilly, aged 24, successfully challenged the Government in Court after she was forced to work in a Kings Heath branch of Poundland or lose her benefits.
Ministers hoped to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court but instead introduced legislation to avoid the taxpayer picking up £130 million bill from claimants who lost benefits for refusing to take part in the scheme.

This will allow the Government to press ahead with the controversial reforms without the threat of a large compensation bill.
Work and Pensions Minister Mark Hoban told MPs: "It would be unacceptable for claimants who have failed to take all reasonable steps to increase their chances of finding work to receive an undeserved windfall payment. The Bill would prevent this."
“I was delighted with the original decision” said Roger speaking from his constituency. “Cait Reilly showed a lot of guts challenging the decision which is not an easy thing to do for somebody who is out of work.
So what was the Tory response when they made a mess of the regulations? Not only to change the law, but to do so retrospectively. The Government has effectively declared that it is above the law. Its actions are perfectly in keeping with the increasingly authoritarian attitude adopted by departments, particularly the DWP.”
Roger said: “Iain Duncan-Smith continues to demonstrate his continued belief in the ethos of the undeserving poor and his role as the Mr Bumble of benefits. How dare they ask for more or be paid for the work they do!!”
The Labour Front Bench abstained but Roger was one of the 40 Labour MPs who voted against giving the Bill a Second Reading.

This article appeared in the March edition of Roger's newsletter 'Postcard from Parliament'