Ordinary families need major political intervention to avoid a massive rise in poverty, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being warned.
The plea for action is being made before the UK Government treasury boss sets out his spring statement on spending on March 23.
Personal finance advice guru Martin Lewis is among those raising alarm about the scale of the problem.
“As the money saving expert, who’s been known for this, I am virtually out of tools to help people now,” he said.
“It’s not something money management can fix.
“We need political intervention.”
Windfall tax and duty cut?
Financial pressure has been building as the economy struggles to recover in a pandemic, fuel crisis and war in Ukraine.
People already in poverty face serious money worries.
And more working households will struggle to pay bills.
Mr Sunak is facing calls to take action, including:
- Cut fuel duty as petrol prices soar
- Offer aid for energy bills
- Reverse a £20 cut to Universal Credit
He is also under pressure to consider a windfall tax on oil and gas, which could have major implications in Scotland.
The latest figures show average prices are a record 165.9p per litre for petrol and 177.3p per litre for diesel.
Meanwhile, the rising energy cap is already about to send household bills up by at least £990 on average in Scotland compared with April 2021.
As we revealed from official data before the April cap change, the rural north and west will be punished hardest.
Mr Lewis, who runs the MoneySavingExpert website, says the “vast likelihood” is energy bills will go up by around £600 when the next autumn price cap is announced.
Citizens Advice says about one if four adults in the UK will struggle to pay bills by then.
In a round of TV interviews on Sunday, the Chancellor heard opposition calls to ease the pain in his budget statement.
Sunak: ‘I don’t want people to be scared’
Mr Sunak, told the energy price cap was likely to go up again in October, said: “We don’t know and I don’t want people to be scared.
“What we have is a price cap that will protect people all the way through to the autumn.
“We’ve acted now to help them with the increase that is coming in, in April – the situation is obviously very volatile in Ukraine.”
He said it was “too early to speculate” on what might happen with the price cap in October.
‘Scrap the national insurance increase’
The SNP want the Chancellor to match a 6% benefits uprating.
MP David Lindon, the SNP work and pensions spokesman, said: “The Chancellor must stop making excuses and deliver an emergency package of support at the spring budget – raising benefits by at least 6%, scrapping the NI tax hike, matching the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide, reversing the £1,040 Universal Credit cuts, introducing a Real Living Wage, and turning his ‘heat now pay later’ loan into a more generous grant.”
Labour wants a windfall tax on the “big profits” being made by North Sea oil and gas companies.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the party’s private sector surcharge policy would bring in £3.7 billion to help “keep bills lows” – £2.5 billion more than calculated in January.
She repeated the party’s opposition to drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea, saying any benefit would be “years in the making”.