Elderly People (Long-term Care)

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 8 July 2009.

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Photo of William Hague William Hague Shadow Secretary of State (Foreign Affairs) 11:30, 8 July 2009

The Leader of the House's statement "We are not cutting capital spending", when the Government's figures show it declining from £44 billion to £22 billion, is exactly the sort of statement that damages the credibility of politics and the Government. It is no wonder that they are abandoning their numeracy strategy when Ministers will not admit that 22 is half of 44. Is the right hon. and learned Lady aware that figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies show that capital spending from 2013 as a proportion of national income would be below the average for the whole 18 years of Conservative Government? That is the capital spending that the Government intend to deliver. Is it not also true that, on the Government's figures, the huge increase in debt interest and the rise in unemployment mean it is an indisputable fact that their projections lead to departmental spending falling heavily in the next few years? Why can she not admit the facts?