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Prime Minister's question asked in the House of Commons, by Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 20 December 2017 on behalf of the Prime Minister.


Engagements

Question

In 2009, the Prime Minister said it was

“a tragedy that the number of children falling into the poverty cycle”

was “continuing to rise.” Every child deserves to have a roof over their head and food on the table, yet on her watch, in Wandsworth alone, the number of families forced to survive on food banks is continuing to rise, and 2,500 children—yes, children—will wake up homeless on Christmas day. So my question is simple: when will this austerity-driven Government say enough is enough and put an end to this tragedy?

Answer

The hon. Lady should note that, in fact, this Government have lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of absolute poverty. But it is important for all those who have heard her question to be aware of this: she talks of 2,500 children in Wandsworth waking up homeless on Christmas day; anybody hearing that will assume that what that means is that 2,500 children will be sleeping on our streets. It does not. [Interruption.] It does not mean that. [Interruption.]


Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
633 c1053 
Session
2017-19
Oral question type
1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Children Homelessness Poverty
Link
View this Prime Minister's question on hansard.parliament.uk