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<p>CPI has been the default inflation measure for the government’s statutory annual
review of benefits since 2011 and it is standard practice for the government to uprate
in line with September CPI, which was 3.1% in 2021. September CPI is the latest available
figure confirmed by the ONS prior to the annual review and allows sufficient time
for the legislative and complex delivery process to take place.</p><p> </p><p>In addition
to uprating social security benefits, the government is also providing support to
families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with cost of living pressures.
This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances
to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol duties to keep costs down, and providing
millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills. At the Spring
Statement, the Chancellor went further, announcing an increase to the annual National
Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, and an additional
£500m to help the most vulnerable with the cost of essentials through the Household
Support Fund. Families and businesses across the UK will also benefit from a 12-month
cut in fuel duty of 5 pence per litre, the largest cash terms cut, that has ever been
applied to all fuel duty rates at once. This cut represents savings for consumers
worth almost £2.4 billion over the next year. And, from 1st April 2022, the National
Living Wage (NLW) increased by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23, which will
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.</p>
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