Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities, (c) disabled people, (d) single parents and (e) women with no recourse to public funds.

The government understands that people are worried about the cost of living challenges ahead.

That’s why the government has announced support worth £26 billion for 2023-24, designed to target the most vulnerable households. The Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24. This is in addition to benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and people with disabilities. The support includes £1 billion of new funding to enable a further twelve-month extension to the Household Support Fund, which helps Local Authorities assist those who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

Support is already in place to support households this winter. In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, the government has announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living in 2022-23.

The Treasury carefully considers the equality impacts of the individual measures announced at fiscal events on those sharing protected characteristics, including gender, ethnicity and disability – in line with both its legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and its strong commitment to equality issues.