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Deprivation/Child Poverty

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the passporting of benefits must be fully taken into account. At present, it is not taken into account when we look at in-work poverty. He may recall that in its current investigation of the role of carers, the Committee came across carers who work for 16 hours a week. Because of their caring responsibilities, they do not have the time to work more than that. As the national minimum wage has risen, they have had to reduce their hours in order to retain their carer's benefit. Is not that another example of how in-work poverty is not being tackled by the measures that the Government are contemplating?