1-11 of 11 results for subject:Inflation
Librarians' tools
- Search time
- 0.197 seconds
- Solr query time
- 0.004 seconds
- Search query
- subject:Inflation
- We searched for
- subject_t:Inflation OR subject_ses:91661
Type
House
Session
Year
Department
Member
Primary member
Answering member
More
Legislative stage
Legislation
Subject
Publisher
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of inflation on the capacity of fire and rescue services to deliver minimum service levels.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of inflation on the capacity of fire and rescue services to deliver minimum service levels.
The Government published a consultation on minimum service levels for Fire and Rescue Services on 9 February. An Impact Assessment to accompany the consultation is available on gov.uk,
The final Local Government Settlement published by the Department for Levelling up, Communities and Housing on 6th February 2023 confirms that Revenue Support Grant and Baseline Funding Levels will increase in line with September CPI (10.1%).
Additionally, the council tax referendum limits for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) have been set at £5 which will provide an additional £67m of income if all standalone FRAs choose to make full use of the flexibility. This settlement represents a good deal for fire and rescue and will help to manage their inflationary pressures
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of inflation on the police precept; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of alternative methods towards providing funding for local police services.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of inflation on the police precept; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of alternative methods towards providing funding for local police services.
Around two thirds of police funding comes from central Government grants, as well as additional funding for specific purposes like crime reduction programmes. The remaining funding is drawn from a share of council tax known as “precept”. In total for 2022-23, the Government will provide around £10bn of grant funding to PCCs, with up to £4.9bn drawn from police precept.
Setting precept levels is a decision for elected Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account local priorities. Central Government set upper limits on the amount that precept may be increased each year in England. Any proposed increase above that limit is subject to a local referendum. Council tax policy in Wales is a matter for the devolved Government.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the allocation of the National and International Capital Cities Grant to the Metropolitan Police has been adjusted for inflation.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the allocation of the National and International Capital Cities Grant to the Metropolitan Police has been adjusted for inflation.
In 2022-23 the Metropolitan Police Service will receive up to £3.24bn of funding. This is an increase of up to £169m when compared to 2021-22. In addition, the MPS receives funding for a number of other functions including as the lead for counter-terrorism, around £47m of funding relating to crime reduction programmes, and specific funding through the Police Special Grant.
The discretionary National and International Capital City (NICC) Grant, which is included in these figures totals £185.3m, unchanged from 2021-22.
Funding since 2010 cannot be directly compared as elements have changed or been amalgamated over time.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in inflation on (a) Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and (b) other fire and rescue services.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in inflation on (a) Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and (b) other fire and rescue services.
The Government understands that inflation is placing a financial pressure on Local Government, including all Fire and Rescue Authorities.
Local government funding allocations and the council tax referendum principles for 2023/24 will be announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement next month.
In advance of this, we are working with the Local Government Association, National Fire Chiefs Council, DLUHC and HM Treasury to obtain the right settlement for Fire and Rescue Authorities taking into account, among others, evidence of inflationary pressures. The provisional settlement will set out funding allocations and the precept referendum limits for Local Government as a whole.
I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. If the hon. Member’s question relates to the operating budget of
the DWP, we expect Departments to live within their existing CSR21 allocations. If his question relates to the level of benefits more generally, a statutory process is undertaken every year and no decisions have yet been made. They will be made in due course in the normal way.
I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. If the hon. Member’s question relates to the operating budget of
the DWP, we expect Departments to live within their existing CSR21 allocations. If his question relates to the level of benefits more generally, a statutory process is undertaken every year and no decisions have yet been made. They will be made in due course in the normal way.
What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential effect of inflation on that Department's budget.
I am obviously not going to offer any kind of running commentary on the ongoing internal discussions. I have said that the normal ordinary statutory process is ongoing, but the Government are mindful of the cost of living pressures that people are facing. I would draw the hon. Member’s attention to the large increase in the national minimum wage—I think about 7%—that took place last April or May, and there are now more vacancies in the economy than there are people on unemployment benefits.
I am obviously not going to offer any kind of running commentary on the ongoing internal discussions. I have said that the normal ordinary statutory process is ongoing, but the Government are mindful of the cost of living pressures that people are facing. I would draw the hon. Member’s attention to the large increase in the national minimum wage—I think about 7%—that took place last April or May, and there are now more vacancies in the economy than there are people on unemployment benefits.
I thank the Minister for his answer, if not for his recent tweets. Has he had any representations from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to increase social security payments in line with inflation? Far too often, this Government talk about their agenda for growth, but failure to increase in line with inflation will result only in a growth in food banks in Easterhouse, in fuel poverty in Carmyle and in child poverty in Baillieston. When is the Minister going to do the right thing and commit to raising social security in line with inflation and not with earnings?
The Government’s first objective is to ensure that the economy is growing. That will help to lift wages and to create new jobs and a sustainable tax base for our public services, but as we make the decisions that my right hon. Friend refers to, we are going to balance considerations of fairness and the cost of living pressures that people suffer with the interests of the taxpayers who are working hard to pay tax.
The Government’s first objective is to ensure that the economy is growing. That will help to lift wages and to create new jobs and a sustainable tax base for our public services, but as we make the decisions that my right hon. Friend refers to, we are going to balance considerations of fairness and the cost of living pressures that people suffer with the interests of the taxpayers who are working hard to pay tax.
Can the Minister confirm that the Government will not balance the forthcoming tax cuts on the backs of the poorest people in our country?
I have already explained that the normal statutory process is under way. When it comes to helping people on lower incomes, I mentioned the very significant increase in the minimum wage just a few months ago. We made an unprecedented intervention this year, amounting to £37 billion, which is disproportionately directed towards people on lower incomes. The one third of households on lower incomes are receiving an extra £1,200 this year.
The hon. Lady also referred to the fact that people earning £12,570 or less pay not a penny of national insurance and not a penny of income tax, which is thanks to the action of this Conservative Government.
I have already explained that the normal statutory process is under way. When it comes to helping people on lower incomes, I mentioned the very significant increase in the minimum wage just a few months ago. We made an unprecedented intervention this year, amounting to £37 billion, which is disproportionately directed towards people on lower incomes. The one third of households on lower incomes are receiving an extra £1,200 this year.
The hon. Lady also referred to the fact that people earning £12,570 or less pay not a penny of national insurance and not a penny of income tax, which is thanks to the action of this Conservative Government.
The Minister talks about vacancies in the job market. There are vacancies, of course, but many of my constituents earn under £12,000 a year. They will not benefit from the tax cut, so they rely on universal credit to make up the gap. They cannot afford to work because of the high cost of childcare. They are already on the poverty line. What is his advice to them? Will he give us some comfort that the Government will make the right decision on uprating benefits?
What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential effect of inflation on that Department's budget.
What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential effect of inflation on that Department's budget.
I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. If the hon. Member’s question relates to the operating budget of
the DWP, we expect Departments to live within their existing CSR21 allocations. If his question relates to the level of benefits more generally, a statutory process is undertaken every year and no decisions have yet been made. They will be made in due course in the normal way.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the income threshold for High Income Child Benefit Charge in the context of recent trends in inflation.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the income threshold for High Income Child Benefit Charge in the context of recent trends in inflation.
The adjusted net income threshold of £50,000 for HICBC only affects a small minority of earners with comparatively high incomes. Given this, the government considers that the current threshold for HICBC remains the best option but, as with all tax thresholds, this is kept under review.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of higher levels of inflation on spending on public services.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of higher levels of inflation on spending on public services.
The plans announced at Spending Review 2021 mean that total departmental spending is set to rise to £566 billion in 2024-25 – a cash increase of £150bn per annum over the Parliament.
It is standard practice for the government to set cash budgets, and for departments to manage the risk of inflation. However, the government is also driving a renewed focus on efficiency, to ensure that departments can continue to deliver on their commitments and make their resources go further.
The government is taking important steps to get inflation under control through strong, independent monetary policy, responsible tax and spending decisions, and reforms to boost our productivity and growth.
The Government will be announcing measures shortly to address energy price costs.