Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Universal Credit for meeting average (a) food and (b) fuel costs.

In April 2023, State pensions and benefits were up rated by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022.

With regard to the adequacy of Universal Credit, the current rates of income-related benefits such as Universal Credit do not represent a minimum requirement, and are not described as such in legislation or Government literature. The Government specifies the rates which are applicable to different benefits, and these may vary according to claimants' circumstances.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has announced support to households to help with higher bills worth £94 billion across 2022-23 and 2023-24, one of the largest household support packages in Europe.