London : UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Thursday tabled a series of measures in Parliament, including one-off payments for struggling families and a temporary levy on high profits of oil and gas companies, as part of a GBP 15 billion Cost of Living Support package to address Britain’s soaring inflation and cost-of-living crisis. The Indian-origin finance minister, who has been under mounting pressure to come up with a plan to tackle the UK’s highest inflation rate in decades, said he knows people are worried about bills. In his statement to the House of Commons, Sunak said the government will not sit idly by and has the tools to combat inflation over time. We know that people are facing challenges with the cost of living and that is why today I’m stepping in with further support to help with rising energy bills, said Sunak..We have a collective responsibility to help those who are paying the highest price for the high inflation we face. That is why I’m targeting this significant support to millions of the most vulnerable people in our society. I said we would stand by people and that is what this support does today, he said. A new, one-off GBP 650 payment will be offered to more than 8 million low-income households on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Pension Credit and other benefits, with separate one-off payments of GBP 300 to pensioner households and GBP 150 to individuals receiving disability benefits. The minister had already confirmed an energy bills discount due to come in from October.

