Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the impact of rising inflation on household budgets while stimulating consumer spending, given the stagnation of retail sales between February and March.

The government is fully committed to supporting the Bank get inflation back down to the 2% target, including by keeping borrowing under control. Inflation has also come down significantly, to less than half its 2022 peak.

Over the past two years, the government has provided support to help households with the cost of living totalling £96 billion – an average of £3400 per UK household. Further support announced by the government for 2024-25 includes extending the Household Support Fund, cutting National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and raising the National Living Wage (NLW).

ONS retail sales growth was flat in March, following growth of 0.1% in February. However, due to a significant rebound in January, retail sales increased by 1.9% on the quarter. This represents the strongest quarterly growth since Q2 2021.