Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a mid-year review of social security payments.

The government is required to review the rates of benefits annually to determine whether they have kept pace with price inflation. 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.

The Government is already taking steps that will help families with the cost of living. We have cut the Universal Credit taper rate and increased the work allowances by £500 per year and we are increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour in April 2022. We have also announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, which will provide 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, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500m to help the most vulnerable with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund.