Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on trends in the number of (a) businesses at risk of insolvency and (b) people in debt in Wellingborough constituency; and what fiscal steps he is taking to support these (i) businesses and (ii) people.

Over the previous two years, the government has provided support to help households with the cost of living totalling over £90 billion.

To help those on the lowest incomes with debt, at Spring Budget 2024 the government also removed Debt Relief Order fees and doubled the Budgeting Advance Loan repayment period.

The government continues to pursue an ambitious policy agenda to increase growth and productivity across the economy. This includes cuts to National Insurance, a business rates package worth £4.3bn over five years supporting small businesses and the high street, and wider measures supporting SMEs such as actions to encourage prompt payments. The government continues to go further in supporting small businesses, and at Spring Budget announced the raising of the VAT registration threshold to £90,000.