Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what distributional analysis his Department has undertaken on the impact of the reduction in fuel duty announced in the Spring Statement 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government has published a tax information and impact note on the fuel duty changes announced at Spring Statement. This includes the impacts on individuals, households, and families, as well as those that share protected characteristics. It is noted that this measure has potential to impact up to an estimated 36 million individuals by reducing motoring costs, subject to how much they drive, relative to fuel duty rates remaining unchanged. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-fuel-duty-rates/fuel-duty-rates-2022-23
Alongside the Spring Statement, the government has also published distributional analysis on the estimated impact of tax changes (including fuel duty) for households. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-statement-2022-documents
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what specific measures for disabled people are included in the Spring Statement 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government is committed to enabling disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to live fulfilling and independent lives. Spring Statement announced a substantial package of measures worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help households with the cost of living, which will benefit disabled people both in and out of work. This includes an additional £500m for the Household Support Fund to help households with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing, and utilities. In England, the fund will continue to be distributed to Local Authorities, who are best placed to direct help to those who need it most, including those with disabilities.
In addition, the Spring Statement allocated £25.3 million to Local Authorities across England for the installation of over 500 life-enhancing Changing Places public toilets, providing targeted support for people with severe disabilities.
The Spring Statement measures should be seen alongside the significant multi-year support for disabled people that was already announced in the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review, which included over £1.1 billion of investment to help those with disabilities secure and sustain employment, and £2.6 billion for new school places for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in England.
The government recognises that a disability or long-term health condition can have a significant impact on the cost of living at the best of times. We continue to invest heavily in the welfare system to support disabled people both in and out of work, and in 2022-23 we are currently forecast to spend over £64 billion on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain. This is around 2.5% of UK GDP.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) impact of the (i) Spring Statement 2022 and (ii) October Budget 2021 and (b) combined impact of those fiscal events on (A) women, (B) Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, (C) disabled people, (D) LGBT+ people and (E) pensioners.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Treasury carefully considers the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics, including at Spring Statement 2022 and Autumn Budget 2021 and other fiscal events, in line with both its legal obligations and with its strong commitment to promoting fairness.
Those with protected characteristics are amongst those who are benefitting from the actions taken at the Spring Statement 2022 and Autumn Budget 2021. These include increases in the National Living Wage (NLW) to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over, which will benefit women, people with disabilities and individuals from some ethnic minority backgrounds, who are more likely to be on the NLW.
Women and the LGBT community are disproportionately affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence and are being supported by increased funding announced at Autumn Budget 2021 for victim support services, including Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors.
Spending Review 2021 also announced an enhanced offer for workers aged 50 and over to ensure that older workers receive the support they need to remain in or return to work and benefit from fuller working lives.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department's distributional analysis accompanying the Spring Statement 2022 combined all tax, welfare and public service spending decisions since the Spending Round 2019; and what plans his Department has to publish a separate distributional analysis for each fiscal event during that period.
Answered by Simon Clarke
At each fiscal event HM Treasury has regularly published distributional analysis of the impact of tax, welfare and spending decisions on households.
The aim of the government’s distributional analysis is to present a comprehensive picture of the net effect of tax or welfare changes on household incomes, as well as the impact of public spending decisions, in the round. As each policy decision will have a different effect on households, presenting the total impact over a relatively long time period provides a more robust, comprehensive and stable approach than looking at every policy individually.
Distributional analysis published at Spring Statement 2022 shows that in 2024-25, the tax, welfare and spending decisions made since Spending Round 2019 (SR19) will have benefitted the poorest households most (as a percentage of income). The impact of government policy since SR19 on the bottom four deciles is expected to be worth more than £1,000 a year, while there will have been a net benefit on average for the poorest 80% of households.