Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

George Freeman Excerpts
Tuesday 11th December 2012

(11 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Sajid Javid Portrait Sajid Javid
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Government are relentlessly focused on eradicating poverty and the measures he has talked about, such as universal credit, increase work incentives and help people back into work.

George Freeman Portrait George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)
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Is it not the truth that the best way to tackle child poverty is to have parents in work? Does my hon. Friend agree that the creation of 1.2 million new private sector jobs, the taking of more than 1 million of the lowest paid out of tax and the abolition of the rise in fuel duty planned by the previous Government make the average family more than £125 better off and does more for child poverty than any scaremongering by the Opposition?

Sajid Javid Portrait Sajid Javid
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That is right. If we can deal with worklessness, we can help deal with poverty. In the past two years, 1.2 million private sector jobs have been created—more than were created on a net basis by the previous Government over 10 years.