3 in 10 families 'worried about covering bills' - Abena Oppong-Asare responds

Abena Oppong-Asare MP, Labour’s Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, responding to an index showing that three in 10 families with children at home ‘worried about covering bills’, said:

"The UK is suffering from the worst economic crisis of any major economy, yet the Chancellor is pinning all his hopes for recovery on a consumer boom.

“This is more evidence that he’s totally out of touch with people’s daily lives. Households are already tightening their belts because they are worried about the future. Now the Chancellor wants to hit them with a triple hammer blow of council tax rises, pay freezes and benefit cuts.

“He must reverse these economically illiterate decisions and take action to secure our economy today, rather than waiting until the Budget. We need a smart extension to the furlough scheme to protect jobs and an extension to the businesses rates holiday and the reduced rate of VAT to support our high streets.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

• Nearly three in 10 families with children living at home are worried about their ability to pay the bills in the coming weeks, according to an index released today (Thursday).
• The 29% who said this was around double the proportion of households with no children living at home with the same concern, at 14%, comparethemarket.com’s household financial confidence tracker found.