26 May 2022
The Government have today (26 May) announced the following measures in response to the escalating cost of living crisis.
- a one-off £650 cost of living payment directly to around eight million households on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Pension Credit and legacy benefits
- an extra, one-off pensioner cost of living payment of £300 for over eight million pensioner households who receive the Winter Fuel Payment
- an extra one-off disability cost of living payment worth £150 to help the 6 million people who receive non-means tested disability benefits
- a £400 discount (doubled from £200) to support household energy bills from October via the Energy Bills Support Scheme (and repayments cancelled)
- a temporary, targeted Energy Profits Levy charged on profits of oil and gas companies
For more information about the measures, visit the government website.
Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming has responded with the following statement:
"After months of the pressure from Equity and the trade union movement about the cost of living crisis, the Chancellor has finally caved in and announced a package to support households across the country who face escalating energy and food bills. However, it is a disgrace to not include the permanent uprating of benefits and making Universal Credit work for self-employed people.
Short term measures are necessary, but it’s folly to say that the cost of living crisis is temporary. We need a long term strategy to tackle the structural inequalities that have grown over recent decades – only strong trade unions winning higher pay can do this. Employment and labour law reform, with full backing from government is the only strategy that can fix this crisis permanently."
