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Proceeding contribution from George Osborne (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 20 October 2010. It occurred during Ministerial statement on Comprehensive Spending Review.


Comprehensive Spending Review

There is a problem in social housing, but frankly the party that the hon. Gentleman supported in this House—on and off—for 13 years did absolutely nothing to address it. We are trying to reform social housing provision so that more homes are built and so that there is more availability of socially rented properties, unlike the fall that we have seen recently. He talks about his constituents and he must ask himself—I certainly confronted this—whether it was fair to ask the people of his constituency who go out to work to fund housing benefit bills of £50,000, £60,000 or £70,000 a year. That is totally unaffordable to the working people of Islington. We have introduced what I think is a perfectly reasonable rule that the average family out of work should not get more in benefits than the average family earns in work. I find it difficult to see how people could object to that.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
516 c987 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Child tax credit Compensation Crime prevention Disadvantaged Benefits rules Cost effectiveness Defence BBC Age Contributions Devolution Capital investment Civil servants Development aid Civil list Fares Housing benefit Government departments Interest charges Economic situation Equitable Life Assurance Society NHS Police Local government finance Workplace pensions Public sector Public bodies Public expenditure Pupils Railways Redundancy Non-departmental public bodies Midland Metro Public finance M25 Public sector debt Social security benefits Welfare tax credits State retirement pensions Working tax credit Terrorism Schools Reform Social rented housing Reviews Retirement Science Tyne and Wear Metro Security of tenure S4C Sure Start programme BBC World Service A3 Cuts Employment and support allowance M4 M62 M5 Olympic Games 2012 Presbyterian Mutual Society Departmental expenditure limits Bank levy Green Investment Bank A11 Birmingham New Street Station
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk