Rishi Sunak eyes poverty grants to tackle cost-of-living crisis

Rishi Sunak eyes poverty grants to tackle cost-of-living crisis. According to reports new grants worth £500 million could be unveiled soon.

Reportedly Rishi Sunak is set to announce £500 million in grants to help households that are struggling as the cost of living rises. It is expected that the major new package will target poorer households. Many households are beginning to struggle as energy prices rise. Some households will also see benefits cut too.

As reported by Bloomberg, local authorities are expected to be the ones distributing the grants. The grants though are expected to replace the Covid-19 local support grant scheme. This scheme will be ending shortly.

The COVID scheme has handed out over £425m in a bid to help out households. The scheme aimed to help those who are struggling with food costs and utility bills throughout the pandemic.

Tory MPs have raised concerns that poorer households will face more financial strain. They have warned that increases in gas prices and electricity prices could hit some households hard. Millions of people could see energy bills increase by hundreds of pounds.

The Universal Credit temporary uplift is also set to end soon. This will see many people miss out on £20 a week.

Labour has said the government should backtrack on the Universal Credit cut. They believe that around half a million families could be pushed into “fuel poverty”.

The furlough scheme put in place by the government will end soon too. This had protected over 11 million jobs throughout the pandemic.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.