Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Sharma and Victoria Prentis

Monday 19th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

14. What steps the Government have taken in Budget 2018 to ensure that people in work keep more of what they earn when in receipt of universal credit.

[The Minister for Employment (Alok Sharma)]

In the Budget, the Chancellor announced a £1,000-a-year increase in work allowances from April next year. It will provide an annual boost of £630 for about 2.4 million working families across the country.

[Victoria Prentis]

Does my hon. Friend welcome those announcements in the Budget? Does he agree that not all Labour’s legacies were as effective as those mentioned in the previous question, and that a system which penalised hard-working people with marginal tax rates as high as 90% was not effective?

[Alok Sharma]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Under the legacy benefits system, some people faced punitive marginal tax rates. The fixed taper rate under universal credit ensures that work always pays, and that is why we are seeing more people getting into work.