Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) address, and (2) mitigate, the ongoing increased cost-of-living.

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

This year, this government has raised working age benefits by 6.7%, supporting 5.5 million households on Universal Credit, with an average gain of £470 this year. The government has also frozen fuel duty and raised the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30^th percentile of local market rates.

The government believes that the best way of boosting living standards is by supporting people into work. The government has introduced other policies that will support over 200,000 additional people into work by 2028/29, according to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. The government has also raised the National Living Wage (NLW) by 9.8%, ending low hourly pay for those on the NLW.