Welfare Reform Green Paper

In any welfare system, it is important—the right hon. Gentleman will not want to argue against this—to target specific and additional help on the poorest people in society. I make no apology for the fact that, through tax credits, the pension credit and other initiatives that we have introduced, we have lifted literally millions of our fellow citizens out of poverty altogether. That is a record of solid achievement that all Labour Members are proud of. These reforms are about incapacity benefit, older people and lone parents; that is the focus of the Green Paper, and I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will benefit from a thoroughly good read of it.