§ 22. Dr. Kim HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the measures his Department has taken to ensure that families on social security can pay for a healthy diet.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Government do not prescribe what proportion of benefit should be spent on any particular budgetary item, but the social security reforms have made it possible to channel extra help to the most vulnerable groups. Compared with the pre-1988 position, the resources made available to families with children through income related benefits have risen by around £1 billion a year in real terms.