Two versions of Osborne’s benefits speech

The Times’ Sam Coates picked up on a couple of discrepancies between the text of George Osborne’s Morrisons speech sent out by CCHQ, and the one published by the Treasury. Here’s the CCHQ text:

‘In 2010 alone, payments to working age families cost £75 billion. That means about one in every seven pounds of tax that working people like you pay was going on working age benefits.’

But the Treasury version reads:

‘In 2010 alone, payments to working age families cost £90 billion. That means about one in every six pounds of tax that working people like you pay was going on working age benefits.’

Osborne actually delivered the Treasury version, and that does seem to be the more accurate one. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Green Budget, spending on working-age benefits and tax credits — in 2012-13 prices — totalled £98 billion in 2009-10 and £100 billion in 2010-11. In cash terms, that works out at £92 billion and £97 billion respectively.