Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking ahead of today’s vote on the welfare cap, said:

“Ed Miliband called for an overall cap on social security spending last year, so we will support the welfare cap in the House of Commons today.

“But George Osborne has already broken his own targets in this Parliament. His failure to tackle low wages, deal with the cost-of-living crisis and get more homes built means he is set to spend £13 billion more on welfare than he originally planned.

“Where this Government has failed, Labour will make different and fairer choices to keep the social security bill under control and tackle the root causes of spending.

“We’ll introduce a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee to get young people and the long-term unemployed back to work. We’ll scrap the Bedroom Tax – it is unfair and the evidence shows it may end up costing rather than saving money. We’ll stop paying the winter fuel allowance to the richest five per cent of pensioners. And we’ll get more homes built and tackle the low wages which have pushed up spending on benefits.

“George Osborne has scored an own goal by highlighting in today’s vote his fiscal targets for this Parliament which he has broken. The Budget confirmed that national debt will be rising, not falling, in 2015-16 and the Chancellor’s pledge to balance the books by 2015 also lies in tatters.

“George Osborne should be using today’s debate to finally support the reforms I proposed to allow the OBR to audit the spending and tax commitments in the manifestos of the main parties. The Conservative Chair of the Treasury select committee has backed this reform and even his own Chief Secretary is open to it, so what has the Chancellor got to hide?”

Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said:

“David Cameron’s Government has failed to control welfare spending. Since 2010 the Government has spent £13 billion more than they planned on social security.

“Labour will vote for a cap on welfare to control the costs of social security. However we will go further than this Tory-led Government by tackling the causes of rising social security spending; low pay, long-term unemployment and the inadequate supply of housing.”