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<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>From April, we uprated benefit
rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, and in order to increase the number of households
who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels also increased
by the same amount.</p><p> </p><p>In 2021/22 there were 1.7 million fewer people in
absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10, including 400,000 fewer children,
1 million fewer working age adults and 200,000 fewer pensioners.</p><p> </p><p>With
almost one million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting
individuals to move into and progress in work. This 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>Through the ambitious package announced at the Spring
budget we are delivering measures that are designed to support people to enter work,
increase their working hours and extend their working lives.</p><p> </p><p>To help
people into work, our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including
face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is
specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus and job seekers
with disabilities or health issues.</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. In addition,
the voluntary in-work progression offer started to roll-out in April 2022. It is now
available in all Jobcentres across Great Britain. We estimate that around 1.4m low-paid
benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.</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>
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