Minister sexed up stats

It appears that the Work and Pension Secretary IDS (apparently not a digestive complaint) has been sexing up his statistics in relation to the changes in Housing Benefit.

He told MPs: “We now know that, according to the Office for National Statistics, the private marketplace in housing fell by around 5% last year. At the same time, Local Housing Allowance rates had risen by 3%. There is thus a 7% gap with what is going on in the marketplace.”

A spokesmen for the Department for Work and Pensions has accepted that the figures are not correct.

IDS statement was made in justification to the governments announced cuts in housing benefits.

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