Newly appointed chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is still to outline this month how the government will finance its approach to helping households adjust to the rising cost-of-living, although the ‘mini-Budget’ has been put on hold by the passing of the Queen.
The 10-day period of national mourning means that parliamentary business has been put on hold until after next Monday (September 19), when Her Majesty’s funeral will take place.
Despite September 19 marking the end of the 10 days, the House of Commons is adjourned until September 22, meaning that the government will have a window of between then and September 30 to outline its fiscal plans.
Prior to news breaking of the Queen’s death, new prime minister Liz Truss had outlined plans for a two-year cap of £2,500 on energy bill increases and support for businesses with a six-month cap on bills.
But further details of the plan are yet to be announced and the finances around it have not been disclosed.
Truss has heavily suggested that the ban on fracking could be lifted and new licences issued for the extraction of North Sea oil and gas to help bolster boost domestic energy security.
The news around the fiscal event comes as the Office for National Statistics' figures for July show that UK unemployment fell to a 48-year low of 3.6 per cent, but the impact of inflation meant that real-terms pay dropped by 2.8 per cent in value.
Meanwhile, the new PM is yet to finalise the appointments of “a small number” of ministers, a process which has also been put on hold by the period of national mourning. She had already named her new cabinet.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “Obviously they will be done in due course but outside of the mourning period.”
