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The Budget

The hon. Gentleman makes a point about the rate at which people can keep the money that they earn and not pay tax on it, but he must realise the straitened financial situation in which the country finds itself. People on low incomes really do welcome the fact that the Government have addressed the matter, making an incentive for people to get into employment; because of the taxation system, that was not always the case. I also welcome the fact that the child tax credit has been increased above the rate of inflation, which will have an impact on child poverty. It was unfortunate that the Labour Government were not able to meet their child poverty targets. They were not able to meet their fuel poverty targets either, and we ended up with a larger gap between the rich and poor than when they first came to power.