(1 year, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe Resolution Foundation has estimated that around 1.6 million households will see their fixed-rate deals come to a conclusion before the first quarter of 2024 and, therefore, will obviously feel the impact of increased rates. What is the Treasury’s assessment of the impact that this hit to households’ disposable incomes will have on the wider economy?
We all want interest rates to fall as rapidly as possible. The Bank of England needs to conduct its monetary policy against the target that the Chancellor has set. The Government need to do everything we can to try to reduce the level of debt by controlling our spending, even when that creates difficult decisions for us to make. We will do that so that the day when interest rates fall comes more quickly. In the meantime, this Government are trying to shield households from the pressures of the cost of living, which is why we have deployed that £94 billion this year and last.