Prime Minister will rally ministers behind
the Government’s collective duty to grow the economy and do
everything possible to continue to help the British people with
rising living costs at Cabinet today (Tuesday 26 April).
He will call on his Cabinet colleagues and departments to double
down on exploring innovative ways to ease pressures on household
finances, promoting the support that is available but not widely
taken up, and helping people into high-quality, well-paid jobs
across the UK.
People around the country are already benefiting from new
financial support this month, including immediate help with
energy bills through the £150 council tax rebate, an uplift to
incomes of the lowest paid through the National Living Wage, and
the biggest cut, in cash terms, on fuel duty. £22 billion worth
of support is being made available this year.
The Prime Minister will urge ministers to continue working at
pace to ease living costs without solely relying on new
government spend. High levels of public debt following the
unprecedented support provided during the pandemic, together with
rising inflation and interest rates, mean we must maintain
control of the public finances rather than burden future
generations with higher debt.
The Government is renewing efforts to promote the strong package
of support and established government support schemes on offer,
where thousands of people and families may be missing out.
For example, it is estimated that around 1.3 million families
could be taking up government support through Tax Free Childcare,
which offers up to £2,000 towards childcare costs a year, and
there are still an estimated 850,000 eligible households who are
not claiming Pension Credit, which could be worth over £3,300 a
year for pensioners. People are being urged to check their
eligibility and register for extra support through dedicated
and targeted communications campaigns.
The collective work of Cabinet will be coupled with the
Government’s continued focus on growing the economy and
supporting people into good jobs as the best way out of poverty –
from investing in new infrastructure projects to working with
industry through the Way to Work campaign.
Ministers will be looking at other non-fiscal measures, akin to a
recent change made by DWP to the automatic increases to energy
bills under Universal Credit. Claimants now have more control
over how they spend their money and the chance to discuss payment
plans directly with energy providers.
Cabinet is also clear that private companies must play their part
and so Ministers won’t hesitate to crack down on unacceptable
behaviour taking place within industry, where they are unfairly
pushing up bills further for hard-working people. This comes as
the Business Secretary wrote to Ofgem to urgently look into
claims that energy suppliers may be making unjustified increases
to consumers’ direct debits.
Ahead of Cabinet, Prime Minister said:
“With household bills and living costs rising in the face of
global challenges, easing the burden on the British people and
growing our economy must be a team effort across Cabinet.
“We have a strong package of financial support on offer, worth
£22 billion, and it’s up to all of us to make sure that help is
reaching the hardest-hit and hard-working families across the
country.
“We will continue to do all we can to support people without
letting Government spending and debt spiral, whilst continuing to
help Brits to find good jobs and earn more, no matter where they
live.”
