Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the conclusion of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, entitled Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2015, that people in the bottom fifth of income distribution saw their living costs increase faster than average because they spent more money on essential goods.

Priti Patel

The Department carefully considers all relevant publications.

We know that work is the best route out of poverty and that is why we are reforming welfare and cutting taxes to make sure work always pays and people get to keep more of what they earn. The annual average income of the poorest fifth of households has risen in real terms, compared to 2007/08. Looking forward, working families can expect to see their earnings increase, with average earnings growth expected to reach around 4% a year by 2020, while the current OBR forecast is for inflation to remain relatively low over the next two years.