Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what further support with essential food and energy costs his Department has provided to vulnerable households.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help.

To protect the most vulnerable we have increased benefits in line with inflation. This means that they have risen by September 2022 Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation – 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, benefit cap levels have also increased by the same amount.

Households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments, paid in three separate payments of £301, £300 and £299 across the 2023/24 financial year. The first payment of £301 will be paid to the majority of those eligible between 25 April and 17 May. In addition, over 6 million people on qualifying disability benefits will receive a separate Disability Cost of Living payment of £150 in the summer and more than eight million pensioner households will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living Payment during winter 2023/24.

Further to this, as announced in the Spring Statement, the government is maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 until the end of June. This will ensure that households across the UK are supported through the spring while retail energy costs are expected to remain high.

For people who require additional support, whether they receive benefits or not, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living.  The guidance for Local Authorities for this next iteration has now been published and can be found here. This sets out that the fund should be used to support households in the most need, particularly those who are not eligible for other cost of living support such as Cost of Living Payments. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.

To further support those who are in work, from 1 April, the National Living Wage (NLW) has increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

This support is in addition to that provided in 2022/23, including cost of living payments for people on eligible benefits, the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.