Welfare Reform

Philip Hollobone Excerpts
Thursday 11th November 2010

(13 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Philip Hollobone Portrait Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
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May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his statement? My constituents in Kettering will be right behind him. Often the difference between making more money in work and lounging around on benefits at home is the travel costs to and from work. How will they be taken into account in the calculations?

Iain Duncan Smith Portrait Mr Duncan Smith
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My hon. Friend is right about travel costs. The key point is that if someone going to work retains significantly more money, their travel-to-work costs become much more affordable. Therefore they are able, as other people in work do, to make decisions about travelling to a job over a slightly longer distance. That will be wholly beneficial to those who are out of work.