Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about the uprating of benefits.
I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement during the Autumn Statement 2022 that the Government will continue to protect the most vulnerable by increasing benefits in line with inflation for 2023/24. This means that more than ten million households in receipt of working-age and disability benefits will see an increase in their benefit payments of 10.1%. The average uplift for households receiving Universal Credit will be around £600 and the total cost of uprating benefits in this way will be £11 billion.
The Government is taking decisive and unprecedented action to support households as the cost of living increases.
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.
I also welcome 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 of at least £400, the Government will provide extra one-off payments of £900 for the eight million households on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners, and £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.
You can find more information about support for the cost of living on my website here: Support with the Cost of Living | Richard Fuller which includes more information about the support available at present.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
