Universal Credit

James Cartlidge Excerpts
Tuesday 16th October 2018

(6 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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I have no wish to be abrasive, and if I have been, I of course apologise. However, the appropriate time to talk about any financial measures is at the Budget, as I have said. Such matters are for the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, and there will be an opportunity in a couple of weeks’ time for Members to raise their points of view when the Chancellor comes to the House.

James Cartlidge Portrait James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)
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We hear today that Britain has just seen the strongest growth in wages for nine years. We should make real work pay through stronger real wages, not by going back to the bad old days of unsustainable growth in the benefits bill.

Lord Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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My hon. Friend is right. Regular wages are up 3.1% this year, and I agree that we now have a system in place whereby work pays. The analysis that we have published shows that people get paid more under universal credit.