Over the last two years, the government has provided support to households to help with the cost of living worth over £90 billion.<\/p>
<\/p>
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 30th<\/sup> percentile of local market rates.<\/p> <\/p> 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.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-24T11:49:33.873Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Cost of Living"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) address, and (2) mitigate, the ongoing increased cost-of-living.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1796", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Taylor of Warwick"}
], "uin" : "HL4882"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1720006", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1720006/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " As set out at Spring Budget 2024, the government is considering the findings of the Office for Budget Responsibility\u2019s review of the original costing of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping, published in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 6 March, alongside industry representations and broader data.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-24T11:42:57.907Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Tourism: VAT"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the negative impacts that the removal of tax-free shopping from the UK has had and will have for retail businesses across all sectors.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1744", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Viscount Waverley"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Viscount Waverley"}
], "uin" : "HL4884"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719602", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719602/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Statistics relating to Tax-Free childcare account usage are published quarterly in "Tax-Free Childcare Statistics" on the gov.uk website.<\/p> The current estimated number of families in the UK that are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare is 1.2 million. As this is an estimate, it is not possible to give an exact number of the number of eligible families not using Tax-Free Childcare.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4780", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Laura Trott"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Sevenoaks"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Laura Trott"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "27316"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-24T09:59:53.76Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Childcare: Northern Ireland"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families have taken up tax free childcare allowances in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1593", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sammy Wilson"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Antrim"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sammy Wilson"}
], "uin" : "27315"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719603", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719603/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Statistics relating to Tax-Free childcare account usage are published quarterly in "Tax-Free Childcare Statistics" on the gov.uk website.<\/p> The current estimated number of families in the UK that are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare is 1.2 million. As this is an estimate, it is not possible to give an exact number of the number of eligible families not using Tax-Free Childcare.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4780", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Laura Trott"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Sevenoaks"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Laura Trott"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-05-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "27315"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-05-24T09:59:53.807Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-05-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Childcare: Tax Allowances"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of families eligible for tax free credits have not taken up their entitlement for tax free childcare in each of the last 5 years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1593", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sammy Wilson"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Antrim"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sammy Wilson"}
], "uin" : "27316"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719604", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1719604/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Tax-Free Childcare provides financial support across the UK to eligible working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11, and up to £4,000 per disabled child up to the age of 16.<\/p> <\/p> To further support parents and childcare providers, a series of engagement events took place from autumn 2022 to autumn 2023, including with Northern Ireland local councils. This gave families and childcare providers additional support at local levels to improve their understanding and promote the scheme.<\/p> <\/p>