§ Q3. Mr. Croninasked the Prime Minister if he will instruct the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of Social Security to co-ordinate plans for fiscal and social measures to raise the standard of living of families dependent on lower-paid workers.
§ The Prime MinisterAll aspects of this problem are already being considered by the Ministers concerned.
§ Mr. CroninWhile, in spite of the noncommittal nature of that reply, I am sure that effective measures will be taken, may I ask my right hon. Friend to make sure that there are no administrative delays? Will he bear in mind that some of us—and, I presume, the Government also—are not very proud of the fact that in this country there are still about 500.000 children living in a state of malnutrition, cold squalor and misery?
§ The Prime MinisterI am sure that the whole House is aware of and con- 794 cerned about this problem. As I said in a speech on the Beveridge Plan and as, indeed, we have all said recently, one of the major elements in poverty now, as it has been for some years, is the problem of lower-paid large families. My reply to my hon. Friend was noncommittal because the matter is being considered, and I assure him that it is being considered with very deep concern.
Some of the proposals put forward which appear to provide a relatively easy answer are not so simple as they look. That is why we must study them all very carefully.
§ Mr. DeanMay we have an assurance that in seeking ways of helping low-income families, the Government will not penalise other families through a reduction of the Income Tax child allowance?
§ The Prime MinisterAt this stage of the year in relation to questions about Income Tax I could not in any way prejudge or anticipate the Budget statement of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.