UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said in a recent interview that the burden on hard-pressed households is starting to ease. Pressure from higher bills or mortgage rates are starting to subside, Sunak said. The government has just made its final cost-of-living instalment of £299 directly into bank accounts of the eight million people on means-tested benefits eligible to receive it, without the need to claim. No further payments are scheduled, forcing charities to urge the government to consider more support.
Questions have been raised over whether such payments were the best way to help struggling households. This final instalment is the last of three that totalled £900 and will have been paid within a year. Prime Minister Sunak said he was sad to hear about parents being so low on money that they have been watering down baby formula for their infants. “But my job is to make sure that we can ease those pressures,” he added.
A committee of MPs has questioned whether cost-of-living payments were sufficient to help those in financial difficulty owing to high bills and prices. In November, a report from the Work and Pensions Committee said the money only provided temporary relief for some and might have been better used for increasing benefits.
More than six million people with disabilities received £150 during the summer as part of a cost-of-living payment. Over eight million pensioners received an extra payment of up to £300 during the winter, primarily to help with energy bills. The government has also pointed to a 6.7% rise in benefits and an 8.5% rise in the state pension, as well as an increase in the financial support provided to those on benefits who rent privately, which all come in from April.
However, the government is facing pressure to provide further support in next month’s budget. “The government could be doing so much more, like reversing their tax cuts for big banks to help those struggling to pay their mortgage keep a roof over their head,” said Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney. The £299 payment, although providing some relief to people, is short-lived, said Citizens Advice’s Morgan Wild. He added that long-term commitments are needed to raise people’s incomes and standard of living
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