Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 16 March 2010.
Yes. Our view is that the tax credit system has played a very important role in supporting the economy, particularly in the past year, when a lot of people have seen their income fall-for example, because their hours have been reduced-and it has been possible for their tax credits to increase very quickly in response. I noticed that in my hon. Friend's constituency more than 500 families have benefited, by an average of just over £41.