A welfare milestone - Telegraph The complex and controversial Welfare Reform Bill finally cleared Parliament yesterday, largely unscathed. It is an important milestone, not just for the Government but for the country. Tony Blair's failure to deliver on his promise to reform welfare, even though he commanded a three-figure Commons majority for most of his premiership, was one of his government's most costly missed opportunities. That Iain Duncan Smith has successfully enacted such a comprehensive reform package while sitting in a Coalition government is, therefore, extremely impressive. By replacing a host of benefits with a single universal credit, setting a benefit cap on households and ensuring that being in work will always pay more than being idle, the Bill should help end the culture of welfare dependency that has proved such a drag anchor on the economy, and such a malign influence on our social fabric. Admittedly, the Government faces a formidable challenge in turning legislation into reality: it will involve one of the biggest official computer projects ever attempted, and the track record of such schemes is not good. The passage of the Bill is, nevertheless, a significant achievement. But it is regrettable that the shine has been rather taken off it by a Government retreat over its work experience programme, with participants retaining their benefits even if they pull out. This U-turn may be largely cosmetic, in that this is a voluntary scheme, and only the motivated are likely to apply. Still, it sends out the damaging signal that benefits do not have to be earned, and reinforces the impression that the Coalition is too quick to appease at the first whiff of grapeshot. That this surrender should have been forced by a ragtag rabble of far-Left agitators makes it all the more unpalatable.