| answer text |
<p>The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families.
We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24
including around £124bn on people of working age and children, and around £152 billion
on pensioners. Of this, around £79 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled
people and people with health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>With respect to up-rating,
the Social Security Administration Act 1992 places an obligation on the Secretary
of State to review increases in prices and earnings each tax year, and to increase
certain State pensions, additional-needs disability benefits and carers benefits at
least in line with the relevant index. In the case of the new and basic State Pensions,
the Government is committed to increasing these in line with the triple lock for the
remainder of this Parliament. This is the highest of the increase in prices, the increase
in earnings, or 2.5%.</p><p> </p><p>Once he has completed his review of the increase
in prices, he must also decide whether to up-rate other benefit rates, and if so by
how much. In the up-rating for the tax year 2023/24, all relevant State pension and
benefit rates were increased by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices
Index in the year to September 2022.</p><p> </p><p>With 1.05 million job vacancies
across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents,
to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about
the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially
reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 working
age adults living in workless families were 7 times more likely to be in absolute
poverty after housing costs than working age adults in families where all adults work.</p><p>
</p><p>To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage
(NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest
ever cash increase for the NLW.</p><p> </p><p>At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor
announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they
live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working
lives.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect
parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why,
from 28 June, the changes to the Universal Credit (UC) childcare element announced
in Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents
moving into paid work and/or increasing their working hours.</p><p> </p><p>This government
understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we
are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households
and individuals with the rising bills.</p>
|
|
