Labour accuses government of complacency over cost of living 'crisis'

Labour has accused ministers of being "complacent about the cost of living crisis" amid concerns over energy prices and the cut to universal credit.

The party's shadow business secretary Ed Miliband warned that the £20 reduction in benefit payments risked "plunging" people into fuel poverty.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted supporting energy consumers was the government's "primary focus".

He added that the warm home discount scheme would help vulnerable customers.

From October, around 15 million households in England, Wales and Scotland will face a 12% rise in their energy bills following a squeeze in gas supplies.

On Wednesday, two energy companies ceased trading as a result of the soaring gas prices, meaning their 830,000 customers will be switched to alternative, and potentially more expensive providers.

This comes as the government is planning to remove a £20 top-up to universal credit originally introduced help people through the pandemic lockdowns.

Ministers have insisted that the rise was always intended to be a temporary measure - and they want employers to increase wages to cover shortfalls.

Mr Miliband told MPs the government had been "complacent about the crisis in the market, complacent about the impact on families, complacent about the cost of living crisis".

With the £20-a-week cut to universal credit due to kick in shortly, Mr Miliband asked Mr Kwarteng how he could "justify this attack on living standards" with energy prices on the rise.

"The only right, proper and fair thing to do is to cancel the cut," he said.

Mr Kwarteng said there would be "plenty of time" to discuss the cut when the chancellor unveils his Budget in October.

The minister confirmed that the warm home discount scheme would remain in place.

The scheme - which opens on 18 October - offers eligible people £140 off their electricity bills during the winter months.

Conservative MPs - including Christopher Chope and Robert Halfon - urged the minister to consider reducing VAT on energy bills to help ease the pressure on consumers.

Mr Kwarteng said he saw the chancellor "on a regular basis" adding that those conversations "tend to be confidential".

The SNP's Patricia Gibson warned of a coming "winter of discontent" and asked why "anyone should have confidence in this government".

In reply, Mr Kwarteng said the government had "done a vaccine rollout that has been the envy of the world, got the economy back up and running and we've navigated the storms of Covid-19 pretty effectively".

"We've got five million customers a week and they are from the poorest communities around the UK.

"Our 1,000 stores overlay pretty much exactly with the government's areas of high deprivation.

"We know and understand all of the issue our customers are facing, we are a perfect barometer of Britain.

"At one end of the equation you've got the withdrawal of £20 universal credit payment - some of our customers might only have £25 to spend on food.

"At the other end of the equation you've got all the different stuff - from the pandemic to the pingdemic, to HGV driver shortages, to labour shortages in manufacturing.

"All of that combined means inflation which will translate through to food price increases.

"We've seen the price of milk go up from £1 to £1.19 for four pints.

"My frustration is that the government tends to act in a silo with a lot of these different decisions.

"No one is taking a step back and looking at the compounded impact to business of all of these different issues."