Help with the cost of living
Measures include increasing the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage, cutting energy bills by an average of £117, a freeze on prescription prices, support for households most exposed to heating oil price rises and the Chancellor’s decision to extend the cut in fuel duty until September
NHS getting back on its feet |
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People across England will benefit from faster and better mental health support with 8,500 additional mental health workers recruited since the end of June 2024, meeting a key government target 3 years ahead of schedule. As well as this, we’ve recruited 2,000 more GPs, and patients can now request appointments online, and we’re delivering millions more dental appointments. Ambulances are arriving faster than for half a decade, and almost 4 in 5 patients are seen within 4 hours and 500,000 more people than last year are being seen on time. That’s the best 4-hour performance in A&E in 5 years. £600 million more is being invested in community pharmacy and £4.6 billion in social care. |
Moving transport forward for the future
Councils are facing new rules on how they spend funding to fix potholes and maintain local roads, under new requirements to ensure taxpayers see real improvements. This follows the government’s first-of-a-kind red, amber or green ratings to grade 154 local highway authorities (LHA) based on current road condition and how effectively they are spending the government’s record £7.3 billion funding.
Millions of bus passengers across England are benefitting from cheaper fares, new routes and better services as local authorities are putting government funding to work in their communities.
And rail commuters across the South East are now benefiting from services being brought into public ownership and a freeze on rail fares for the first time in 30 years, helping with the cost of living and supporting economic growth.
Fixing the foundations for families |
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Families could see up to £1000 a year back in their pockets as measures to expand free school meals, roll out free breakfast clubs, and cut the cost of school uniform became law this week. The government’s landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act hard‑wires the government’s education priorities into law – delivering on manifesto promises to cut costs for families, protect vulnerable children, and drive higher standards from early years to adulthood. |
Pride in our communities |
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Neighbourhoods will receive up to £20 million over the next decade, supporting locally-led solutions shaped by the people who know their areas best – not imposed from Whitehall. From saving youth centres and repairing playgrounds, to bringing empty buildings back into community use and expanding affordable after‑school activities – the Pride in Place programme has been designed to deliver improvements that matter to residents. And in many areas, neighbours are coming together to protect vital local services and create new spaces that bring people together. The 40 new neighbourhoods named in March join the 244 already taking part, bringing the total to 284 communities across the UK where local people are deciding how investment is used in their area. |