Social Policy and the Relief of Poverty

Part of Opposition Day — [16th Allotted Day] – in the House of Commons at 4:52 pm on 11 July 2007.

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Photo of Ed Miliband Ed Miliband Minister (Cabinet Office) and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 4:52, 11 July 2007

My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is a double-funding problem; we have to spend to deal with the consequences of failure, and it is difficult to shift money away from that because we need to continue to deal with the problem. Many of the programmes launched in the past 10 years, such as Sure Start, are precisely about prevention, as are youth services. My hon. Friend is also right to say that the issue of outcomes is difficult. We need to show that we are getting results from public money, but these outcomes are often difficult to capture. Perhaps we can draw on my hon. Friend's experience in this area.