"The Platinum Jubilee weekend is upon us and it’s time to celebrate Her Majesty’s extraordinary achievement. Her life has been one of service in the truest sense of the word. To the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and to all of us. Which is why I’m looking forward to attending the various events across Suffolk Coastal this weekend. Our county does these things amazingly well with the Festival of Suffolk bringing together the celebrations. Not just restricted to this weekend but throughout the rest of the summer. More details on their website.
Although the Jubilee celebrations are bringing us all together this weekend, I recognise the impact that rising energy bills are having on family finances. Last week in Parliament, the Chancellor unveiled a further £15bn package of targeted support to help combat the rising cost of living. This includes a new, one-off £650 payment to more than 8 million low-income households on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Pension Credit and legacy benefits, with separate one-off payments of £300 to pensioner households in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments and £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits – groups who are most vulnerable to rising prices. As Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, I’ve been involved in making this happen including mobilising my department to make payments by July. Separately, the Chancellor announced that the energy bills discount due to come in from October is being doubled from £200 to £400, while the requirement to pay it back will be scrapped. This new Cost of Living Support package will mean that almost all of the eight million most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 of extra support this year – equal to the average energy price cap rise.
Finally, it was great to visit Felixstowe School recently and speak to pupils on how we can tackle climate change individually, nationally and internationally. I also invited the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza, to join me to discuss progress with the school’s senior leadership team since their last Ofsted inspection. Whilst I’m encouraged by the steps already taken, it’s essential that the school improves more rapidly for the benefit of pupils and parents."