Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to ensure that wage levels keep pace with inflation.

The government understands that people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of living.

On 8 September, the government announced that the Energy Price Guarantee will supersede the energy price cap, which means that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2500 a year on their energy bill over the next 2 years from 1 October.

To address cost of living in the longer term, it is important that we help people into work, support them to increase their incomes and ensure they keep more of what they earn.

In April, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over, which is expected to benefit more than 2 million workers. This means an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.

We are also supporting people to improve their earnings prospects and support their success in the labour market. At Spending Review 2021, the government confirmed that it is investing a total of £3.8 billion in skills in England by 2024-25.

More broadly, our economic plan will be pro-growth. As a matter of priority, the Chancellor will set out a package of measures to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to cut taxes and boost growth, laying the groundwork for the change we need in the long term to make our economy stronger.