UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (the UK's version of a Finance Minister) Rishi Sunak announced new plans to offer targeted support to the most vulnerable households in the UK on Thursday, reported Reuters. Sunak pledged to send one-off £650 payments to around 8 million of the country's lowest-income households, amounting to around £5 billion in support.
The payment will be made in two lump sums, Sunak continued, with the first to come in July and the second in the autumn. Payments will be made straight to bank accounts. People on disability benefits (around 6 million) will receive an additional £150 one-off payment. Taken together, the UK government's latest support package will help around one-third of UK households, Sunak stated.
Moreover, a prior repayment plan on energy bills that would have seen consumer paying off a government loan over the next few years has been converted into a grant and will thus no longer need to be repaid. Thus, the total measures announced on Thursday amount to an addition £15 billion in aid to households, Sunak noted, taking total support since the start of the cost-of-living crisis to around £37 billion.
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