Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the war in Iran on household budgets in Fylde.

The Government keeps the impact of global developments on household budgets under close review. The economic impact of the situation in the Middle East will depend on its severity, duration and the extent of disruption to energy supplies. The Government does not produce constituency level assessments of the impact of specific geopolitical events on household budgets. Official forecasts are published by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

Living standards have now risen 2.1% this Parliament, after falling over the last Parliament, and real household disposable income per capita is £700 higher in the last 12 months compared to the final year of the last Parliament.

More of the decisions the Government has made to ease pressures on the cost of living have now come into effect this month. The energy price cap fell, taking £117 off the average household bill. The National Minimum and Living Wage both went up – worth up to £1,500 a year for full-time young workers. Millions of pensioners are now getting up to a £575 boost on their State Pension thanks to our Triple Lock commitment. The two-child limit has been scrapped, lifting half a million children out of poverty.