Call for action as warnings grow over cost-of-living crisis

Tories must not slash support while bills are soaring

The SNP has warned Rishi Sunak against slashing support for households - as a new report reveals the average household will be £2,100 worse off by the end of next financial year.

SNP Social Justice spokesperson David Linden MP challenged the Prime Minister to guarantee the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme will continue after April, and to look at other ways to boost household incomes, including improving UK government pay deals for public sector workers and matching the SNP government's Scottish Child Payment of £25 per child per week.

It comes as a Resolution Foundation report reveals, after housing costs, the typical income for a working age family is set to fall by 3% in the year to April - and by a further 4% over the following 12 months. The report suggests the cumulative 7% drop will leave households worse off than before the covid-19 pandemic until 2028, with more than six million households reporting they are going hungry as a result.

Commenting, SNP Social Justice spokesperson David Linden MP said:

"The fact that the Tories have trashed the economy, and household incomes, so badly shows exactly why Scotland needs to become an independent country to escape Westminster control and secure a more prosperous future.

"With the Tory cost of living crisis worsening, it would be unthinkable for Rishi Sunak to slash support for households just as energy bills are set to rise, yet again, on his watch.

"Millions of families have seen their incomes hammered as a result of Tory cuts, Brexit price rises and soaring inflation. This is a crisis made at Westminster, and the Westminster government needs to take action to mitigate the damage it has done to people's incomes.

"The £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme must be extended beyond April, to help households with rising bills, and the UK government must follow the lead of the SNP Scottish Government in improving public sector pay deals, and matching the Scottish Child Payment across the UK, to put money back in people's pockets.

"People across Scotland are paying an unacceptable price for Westminster failure. Families need emergency help right now to mitigate this Tory economic crisis but it is only with independence that Scotland can escape the damage of Westminster control and build a fairer and more prosperous future."