Welfare Reform and Work Bill

Debate between Catherine West and Oliver Dowden

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

I shall speak briefly against new clause 1. We as a nation need to be clear about the scale of the challenge that we face. The budget deficit has been halved, but it is still enormous and we are spending far more than we earn. Against that backdrop, the increase in welfare spending is an important element that must be addressed. The amount of spending on tax credits has risen from £6 billion when Gordon Brown first introduced them to £30 billion now. That money is being borrowed in order to pay for welfare. I do not think that borrowing money to pay for welfare expenditure is a sensible idea.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

Let us look at the totality of welfare spending as though it were a cake. Is it not the case that the failure of the Government over the past five years to address the high cost of housing or to bring down the housing benefit bill is the key to solving your problem?