CRAIG WILLIAMS WELCOMES TREASURY ANNOUNCEMENT OF £15 BILLION COST OF LIVING PACKAGE

Craig Williams has welcomed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement today of an additional £15 Billion package to support the most vulnerable households with the rising cost of living.

The Chancellor today unveiled the Treasury’s ‘Plan for Stronger Economy’, with the most vulnerable UK households set to receive an additional £1,200 – comparable to the average energy bill increase over the course of this year. The measures include:

• A £650 cost of living payment for every household on means-tested benefits – over 8 million UK households will be directly sent a one-off cash payment, paid out by the DWP in two separate instalments in July and Autumn this year.
• A £300 pensioner cost of living payment for every pensioner household in receipt of Winter Fuel Payment, on top of the WFP which had been increased to £300.
• A £150 disability cost of living payment for those in receipt of disability benefits.
• Supporting hard-work families by doubling the October £200 rebate to £400, and turning it into a cash grant – cancelling the existing clawback mechanism.
• Additional funding to the Welsh Government through the Barnett Formula, to support Household Support Fund payments within Wales through local councils.

On top of existing Government measures to help with the cost of living, this package equates to £1,200 of support for those on the lowest incomes (around one-third of UK households), £850 for pensioners, and £550 for hard-working families.

The new measures will be funded through a targeted and temporary Energy Profits Levy on the profits of oil and gas companies, which will be charged on their profits at a rate of 25%, on top of the existing 40% headline rate of corporation tax. This levy will raise around £5 billion over the next twelve months, and the UK Government will also evaluate the profits made by the electricity sector and consider appropriate steps to take.

Welcoming the measures, Craig Williams MP, who is the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

“The last few years have brought unprecedented challenges – from a pandemic that has severely damaged the global economy, to a cost of living challenge now being felt across the world. Due to a series of global forces - economies reopening after the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a fresh wave of lockdowns in China - families and businesses are being hit across the UK and Montgomeryshire through a significant rise in inflation and everyday prices.

“Whilst it is impossible for any government to solve every problem, the absolute priority right now is to help the millions of families who are struggling with the cost of living. Today’s package announced by the Chancellor will support not only the most vulnerable UK households with £1,200, but also pensioners and hard-working families across the UK and Montgomeryshire. On top of the measures previously announced, UK Government support for households with the cost of living now totals over £37 billion – equivalent to 1.6% of GDP.

“Extra revenues will be raised through a new Energy Profits Levy on oil and gas companies, with significant investment incentives built-in to the levy to ensure new investment is not deterred.”