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Government Capital Expenditure

Some resources—a substantial sum—have been allocated to the agency to enable it to take forward purchases of that kind. Let me set out the measures that we are taking. Of course, the global, macro-economic action that I have described takes time to benefit the firms and individuals being hit. That is why we are taking action now with the business payment support scheme to allow firms to spread tax payments over a timetable they can manage. More than 34,000 businesses have reached agreements since that was announced at the time of the PBR. We have provided extra capacity for Jobcentre Plus; we have expanded schemes to enable those losing their jobs to stay in their homes with support for their mortgage repayments; and there is also the VAT cut. I very much welcome what the Institute for Fiscal Studies said last week about the effectiveness of that as a stimulus measure. I think that the mistake of the hon. Member for Twickenham is his apparent belief that the effectiveness of the VAT measure is about what happened in the past, but I think that the measure will, as the IFS pointed out, prove increasingly effective as the year progresses and as the subsequent increase back up to the original rate approaches on 31 December. We are increasing household income next year by putting an extra £145 in the pocket of every basic rate taxpayer; we have given all pensioners a bonus £60 one- off payment, and the basic state pension for a single person is going up very sharply from £90.70 to more than £95 a week in April. We are supporting families by permanently increasing child benefit to £20 a week with effect from last month instead of April, and we are increasing child tax credit by £75 a year in April, which is above inflation. So, unlike the Conservative party, we agree with the Governments of every major economy in the world who are increasing public spending now. I agree with the hon. Member for Twickenham that bringing forward major capital spending on our national infrastructure is a vital way to preserve jobs and boost our economy through this period.