A DECISION on whether benefits will be increased in line with inflation will be announced on Halloween, No10 has confirmed.
The long awaited decision will be announced by Kwasi Kwarteng in the Commons on October 31.
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It’s the same day the Chancellor will unveil his hotly anticipated “Medium Term Fiscal Plan”, outlining the government’s strategy to get debt falling.
The Treasury will be praying the package will stop the Bank of England dramatically raising mortgage repayments when they meet days later to set interest rates.
A report from the Office for Budget Responsibility revealing the horrors of the nation’s finances is also set for Halloween.
The benefits decision will affect all UC payments from April 2023.
For weeks the PM has refused to commit to a hike in line with inflation.
The issue has caused a massive rift in Westminster, with many of Ms Truss’ own MPs urging her to make the change.
Today the Department for Work and Pensions received September figures on earnings, while next week statistics on inflation are due in Whitehall.
Ministers will consider the figures before coming to a final decision.
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At Tory conference last week Cabinet Minister Penny Mordaunt dramatically broke ranks to implore her boss to do it.
She said: “It makes sense to do so. That’s what I voted for before and so have a lot of my colleagues.”
Other top Tories including Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith are understood to be supportive.
