Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has considered to help expediate support to people in Northern Ireland with meeting rising (a) energy costs, (b) food costs and (c) living expenses in the absence of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The UK Government has taken decisive action to support the people of Northern Ireland with the cost of living.

The government is providing significant support to help people in Northern Ireland with rising energy costs through the Northern Ireland Energy Price Guarantee, which will offer households the equivalent level of gas and electricity bills support as the scheme for Great Britain.

Households in Northern Ireland will also benefit from the cost of living support already announced for this financial year. This includes a £400 discount on bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme, the same as that available to households in Great Britain.

The one-off Cost of Living Payments announced in May will also be delivered UK-wide, and includes £650 for those on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners, and £150 for those with a disability.

More broadly, our economic plan will be pro-growth. The Chancellor has today set out a package of measures to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to cut taxes and boost growth. Productivity growth is the only way to deliver sustainable improvements in living standards across the United Kingdom.