South Shropshire, Philip Dunne, has welcomed a £37bn package of support to help families with the cost of living and grow the economy.

The Chancellor unveiled a Plan for a Stronger Economy, which includes an extra £15 billion of support which will support the most vulnerable households with up to £1,200.

The initial £200 rebate for every household the government announced in February will be doubled to £400–and the existing clawback mechanism will be cancelled, turning it into a £400 cash grant for every household. This will continue to be delivered by energy suppliers from October, with payments spread over six months.

Over 8 million of the most vulnerable households (around one-third of all in the UK) will be directly sent a one-off cash payment of £650, paid out from DWP in two separate instalments, with the first due from July and the second in the Autumn. Payments from HMRC for those on Tax Credits will follow one month later. All those who live in the UK and are in receipt of Universal Credit, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit are eligible.

In addition, to help vulnerable pensioners with energy bills, all existing recipients of the Winter Fuel Allowance – around 8 million pensioners - will be sent an additional one-off £300 cash payment, due to be paid out automatically in November/December.

For the nearly 6 million people who receive disability benefits – including Personal Independence Payments, Disability Living Allowance, and Attendance Allowance – there will be an additional one-off cash payment worth £150, paid out from DWP in September.

The government is also providing an additional £500 million for the existing Household Fund from October, to ensure local councils can support those not covered by the above set of payments. Local councils will continue to have discretion over exactly how the funding is used.

The new package of measures will be partly funded through a new targeted and temporary Energy Profits Levy on profits of oil and gas companies. The new Levy will be charged on profits of oil and gas companies at a rate of 25 per cent, on top of the existing 40 per cent headline rate of corporation tax. To prevent any loss of investment, significant investment incentives will be built into the new Levy.

Mr Dunne said:

“The combined effect of the war in Ukraine and global inflationary pressures mean the cost of living is rising sharply for everyone in South Shropshire. While it is impossible for any government to solve every problem, today’s announcement includes much needed support, targeted at those who will be feeling the price impact of the cost of living rising the most – and will do so in a way that means support will be paid quickly without complex applications processes.”