Downing Street Says » Autumn Statement

» Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Autumn Statement

Asked if the PM was happy that benefits had gone up with inflation when troops on the front line could only look forward to 1% payrise, the PMS said that we had to take tough decisions on public sector pay. However, we were committed to recognising the contribution made by our armed forces and that was why we had doubled the operational allowance, increased council tax relief for those on operations and introduced a pupil premium for children of service families. On benefits, a decision was taken in the Autumn Statement that protected the most vulnerable people in society, but we were also reforming the welfare system to make sure that the welfare payments only went to the people who really needed it.

Asked if the servicemen could be exempt from the pay cap, the PMS said that the cap applied across the board.

Asked if the PM agreed with the Secretary of State for the Department of Work of Pensions that keeping benefits in line with inflation would undermine work incentives, the PMS said that the Government was reforming welfare in a number of ways, for example by bringing in the work programme to get people back into work. Taken as a whole, the reforms meant that the Government was sharpening work incentives.

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