The government will extend the energy price guarantee for a further three months, the Treasury has confirmed.
READ MORE: Authorities 'underestimated' risks posed by man who went on to kill sister while on caravan holiday Support of £400 that was available to households over the winter in monthly instalments is still due to end on April 1. But Mr Hunt - who had previously said the price guarantee would have to rise - performed a U-turn following pressure from charities and campaigners.
Childcare reform is also expected to form a large part of the chancellor's package, with reports of a multibillion-pound expansion of free childcare for one and two-year-olds receiving a tentative welcome yesterday, as parents and nurseries awaited the full details. The plan is believed to include 30 hours a week of childcare for parents in England with one and two-year-olds, building significantly on the current provision.
At the centre of that plan will be a range of measures designed to encourage the over-50s, the long-term sick and disabled, and benefits claimants back into the workplace, with the Chancellor specifically set to announce the axing of the system used to assess eligibility for sickness benefits, paying parents on universal credit childcare support upfront and increasing the amount they can claim by several hundred pounds.