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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

The hon. Gentleman should understand that we are spending about £2 billion in additional funding for the unemployed as a result of—[Interruption.] This year, in 2009-10, we are spending about £2 billion in additional funding. In 2010-11, we will increase that: we will spend more than the £2 billion in additional funding. We were initially allocated up to £3 billion, but we will not need to spend all of that £3 billion in 2010-11 because unemployment is lower, so we will be able to spend more in 2011-12. That still amounts to an increase in investment next year compared with this year, at a time when Conservative Members want to cut the funding. They want to cut it, whereas we want to increase it next year compared with this, and the truth is that they would not have spent any of it anyway. They would not have spent a single penny of it, because they oppose every penny of that extra £5 billion, as it was part of the fiscal stimulus and extra discretionary support for the economy, but it has helped us to save money by getting unemployment down.