To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increases in cost of living on people in receipt of benefits living in Slough constituency.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
1 April 2022
No such assessment has been made.
This government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting those on low incomes.
We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, but the Government has taken action worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help. This includes the £9.1 billion energy bill rebate package, worth up to £350 each for around 28 million households. Households will receive a £200 reduction in energy bills this autumn repayable automatically over the next five years. Households in Council Tax Bands A-D in England will also receive a £150 non-repayable Council Tax rebate; and local authorities are receiving extra funding of £144m to help those who are in need but not eligible for the rebate.
Alongside this, for working Universal Credit claimants, we have cut the taper rate and increased the work allowances which is putting on average an extra £1,000 a year into the pockets of two million low-income families. From July 2022 the National Insurance starting thresholds will rise to £12,570 meaning that 30 million working people across the country will keep more of what they earn before paying tax – a saving of over £330 a year for a typical employee.
From April, the Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, such as utilities, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. In England, £421 million will be provided to build on the existing Household Support Fund, whilst the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.