Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Tulip Siddiq and Bill Esterson(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Tulip Siddiq
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Having served as a local councillor for many years, I very much recognise the problem that he describes. I am sorry to hear about this troubling situation, and I will refer his comments to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and make sure that he gets the response he should have had before.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The Minister refers to the £22 billion black hole in the public finances left by the last Government, and which they hid from the British public. Does that not highlight just how important it is to ensure transparency and independent analysis of economic decisions?
Tulip Siddiq
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Upon taking office, as he says, we discovered a £22 billion black hole in the public finances that had been left by the previous Government, and we have now uncovered a litany of unfunded Conservative spending commitments. We recently learned that the deficit is now £4.7 billion higher than the OBR forecast in March because of the previous Government’s economic recklessness. We will rectify this, and we will set out a clear spending plan, and an ambitious plan to get the country back into stable economic conditions, at the Budget.