Campaign reply: please protect every childhood and up-rate benefits

Thank you for contacting me regarding this important issue.

The Government understands that parental employment is the best way to tackle child poverty and improve long-term outcomes for families and children. In 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. 

To help parents into work, the Plan for Jobs continues to provide broad-ranging support for all jobseekers through the Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support, and the Restart scheme. Through a staged roll-out, which began in April 2022, around 2.1 million low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for extended support through Jobcentres to progress into higher-paid work.

I welcome the Chancellor's announcement in the Autumn Statement 2022 that 600,000 more people in receipt of Universal Credit will receive help from a work coach to help increase their earnings or hours.

The Chancellor also announced that the Government accepts the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission to increase the National Living Wage by 9.7 per cent in 2023, meaning it will rise from £9.50 per hour to £10.42 per hour. This represents an annual pay rise worth over £1,600 to a full-time worker - the largest cash increase in the UK's National Living Wage ever. 

These changes are in addition to reforms to the Universal Credit Taper Rate and Work Allowances, saving working families an additional £1,000 per year on average. 

I also welcome the Government's action on energy bills. Under the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), the typical household will pay no more than £2,500 on their energy bill until April 2023. Thereafter, the price cap will rise so that the typical household will pay no more than £3,000 until April 2024. The EPG will save the average household a further £500 and mean they will not have to face energy bills of £6,000 this winter.

In addition to the EPG, I strongly welcome the Chancellor’s announcement during the Autumn Statement 2022 that the Government will increase its cost-of-living support package by an additional £12 billion, taking the total from £37 to £49 billion.

This increase means that, in addition to the cost-of-living payments already being made this year, the Government will provide extra one-off payments of £900 for the eight million households on means-tested benefits, a second £300 Pensioner Cost-of-Living Payment, and another £150 for disability benefit recipients. The Chancellor also announced that the Government will provide £1 billion of extra funding by extending the Household Support Fund for another year, bringing the total of the Fund to £2.5 billion.Benefits will also be increased by 10.1 per cent for 2023/24, in line with inflation. 

To support low-income families further, the Government has increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low-income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. There is also investment of over £200m a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities. The Holiday Activity and Food programme benefitted over 600,000 children last summer.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.