Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to strengthen the social safety net to support households in the context of the rising cost of living.

This government is committed to supporting those on low incomes. We will spend over £242bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2022/23 including £108bn on people of working age and over £134 billion on pensioners. Of the total amount, around £64 billion will be spent on supporting disabled people and people with health conditions.

We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, but the Government has taken action to support and help families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23. This includes the £9.1 billion energy bill rebate package, worth up to £350 each for around 28 million households and we are giving 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year through our cut to the Universal Credit taper and increase to work allowances. Also, from July 2022, the government are raising the National Insurance threshold to £12,570.

We are also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. In England, £421 million will be provided to extend the existing Household Support Fund, whilst the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.