Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has commissioned research into the effect of inflation on low-income households.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expect inflation to average 2.4% over 2017 and 2.3% over 2018. Their forecast was reflected in HMT’s distributional analysis published alongside Spring Budget 2017, which illustrates how changes to tax, welfare, and spending policy impact upon households of different incomes.

The Government is taking action to support the lowest income households. This includes increasing the National Living Wage, raising the personal allowance, and freezing fuel duty.