I have been contacted by constituents about the Household Support Fund.
As the Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South, I have included below my response:
As set out at the 2022 Autumn Statement, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England, bringing the total funding to £2.5 billion since October 2021. This extension allows local authorities to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need. In the case of Milton Keynes City Could, I was delighted that they were provided with £3,585,033 to support the most vulnerable across our city. However, it is up to the local authority to decide how to best spend the funding and benefit local residents, the Government/I had no role in the decision making.
I understand that no further decisions have been taken on the Household Support Fund, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review. However, in April all working-age benefits, including Universal Credit, will be uprated in line with September 2023 Consumer Price Index Inflation – 6.7 per cent. Additionally, the basic State Pension, new State Pension, and Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee will be uprated in line with average earnings growth of 8.5 per cent.
Thank you to those constituents who took the time to contact me about this issue.
