Alison McGovern

I thank every Member who contributed to the debate. My hon. Friends the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher), for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky) and for Chipping Barnet (Dan Tomlinson), the hon. Members for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) and for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman), and the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) all made important contributions. All of us have pointed out that our social security system should be a safety net and a springboard, and should help people be and do all the things they might wish. However, when we look at what we have inherited, it is a mess and it does not serve the purpose it is supposed to serve. That presents a crisis for this country, because each and every one of us knows that one day it could be us that gets sick and needs help, and that one day, hopefully, we will receive a state pension. We need the social security system to do its job. We are not in a good place, but we will move on. We are all impatient to get the change we need. We have already set out plans that are being discussed. We need big, fundamental reform, because the scale of the challenge is huge. There is an £8.6 billion breach this year; the OBR saw the breach coming for over 18 months, but the previous Government did absolutely nothing to prevent it. That is not a number that you get because of one or two— One and a half hours having elapsed since the commencement of proceedings on the motion, the Deputy Speaker put the Question (Order, this day). Question agreed to. Resolved, That, pursuant to the Charter for Budget Responsibility: Autumn 2022 update, which was approved by this House on 6 February 2023 under section 1 of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, this House agrees that the forecast breach of the welfare cap in 2024–25 due to higher forecast expenditure on Universal Credit and disability benefits is justified and that no further debate will be required in relation to this specific breach. Welfare Cap Resolved, That the level of the welfare cap, as specified in the Autumn Budget 2024, which was laid before this House on 30 October 2024, be approved.—(Alison McGovern.)