Member

In conclusion, there is a lot of talk these days about the so-called ballooning welfare bill, ignoring the £50 billion a year which, according to CPAG, has been cut from the social security budget over the past decade or so. As charity after charity has emphasised, in the words of JRF, any credible child poverty strategy must include policies that rebuild the tattered social security system. This will of course take money, so it is crucial that the Treasury is on board. I know that my noble friend understands all this and is limited in what she can say to us, but I hope that she will feed back to the Treasury the concerns that have been raised.