Household Support Fund extended with £500 million of support for
the most vulnerable households
Equivalent of 200,000 more in employment following welfare
reforms and tax cuts to make work pay
“Additional Jobcentre Support” to be rolled out to 150 sites
alongside unprecedented £104 billion cost of living package
Following the next generation of welfare reforms announced last
Autumn – including the flagship £2.5 billion Back to Work Plan –
more people will be rewarded for hard work with cuts to National
Insurance worth £900 for the average employee this year.
We have already delivered on our plan to halve inflation, which
is down to 4% from its peak of 11% thanks to the steps taken by
this Government. As inflation continues to fall, millions of
families will also benefit from extra support with the cost of
living – helping deliver the long-term change our country needs
to deliver a brighter future for Britain and improve economic
security and opportunity for everyone.
The Household Support Fund – first introduced in October 2021 –
will be extended for a fourth time. The extension, backed by £500
million, will support the most vulnerable households.
Alongside the continued cost of living support, jobseekers will
be encouraged to secure long-term financial security through work
following the extension of the Additional Jobcentre Support
pilot.
The pilot will be expanded to a further 30 sites – reaching 150
in total – and will deliver intensive support so more people can
secure the physical, mental, and financial benefits work
brings.
Work and Pensions Secretary said:
Work is the best way to secure long-term financial security,
which is why in this Budget the Government is rewarding hard work
with more tax cuts, boosting growth and helping families with the
challenges they’re facing.
The long-term decisions announced by the Chancellor will put £900
back in the pockets of 27 million employees this year and support
the equivalent of 200,000 people into work, when taken together
with the next generation of welfare reforms we’re already rolling
out.
This was also a Budget that recognised some people are still
struggling and the extension of the Household Support Fund will
give vulnerable households the help they need.
Our plan is building a brighter future for millions of people.
To support households from falling into debt the Government is
taking decisive action to ensure claimants retain more of the
money they receive from Universal Credit.
Almost one million households on Universal Credit take out
budgeting advance loans. These provide families with a vital
source of funds to purchase one-off items like fridges and other
expensive items.
To help make these repayments more affordable we will be
increasing the repayment period for new loans from 12 months to
24 months.
The measures announced in the Spring Budget build on the next
generation of welfare reforms the Secretary of State ushered in
last autumn. The plans offer unprecedented employment and
health support to help over a million people, while protecting
those in most need from cost of living pressures – including
raising pensions and benefits and more help with housing
costs.
While unemployment has been almost halved since 2010, our £2.5
billion Back to Work plan will help thousands of people with
disabilities, long-term health conditions and the long-term
unemployed, to move into jobs. This comes alongside the
Government’s Chance to Work Guarantee, so that claimants on
incapacity benefits can try work without fear of losing their
benefits.
The extension of the Household Support Fund comes on top of the
£104 billion cost of living support package:
- Boosting the state pension by 8.5% from April for over
12 million pensioners, an extra £900 next year for a pensioner on
the new State Pension
- Increasing benefits by 6.7% from April
- Increasing the Local Housing Allowance from April, worth an
average gain of £800 a year
The Government has also announced several significant pension
fund reforms as part of the Value for Money framework. These will
benefit both savers and British business, led by new requirements
for Defined Contribution pension funds to publicly disclose their
level of investment in the UK.
The Government will also undertake further analysis and research
on the viability of a lifetime provider model, which could move
individuals to having just one workplace pension pot across their
career.
Additional Information
- £500m of additional funding enables the extension of the
Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved
Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their
discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will
receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally
through the Household Support Fund.
