An exciting opportunity is on the horizon for South East families. Other recent policy changes to universal credit and tax credits will provide substantial breaks for the thousands of parents who have three or more children. This new initiative is included in a larger package of moves revealed to help families struggling with the soaring cost of living. Their announcement sparked great excitement from numerous members of the community, ranging from local parents with school-aged children to business owners.
The new changes in universal credit are designed to increase support for families, especially those with bigger families. Lauren Harper, a mother-of-four from Eastbourne, was among those to highlight the struggle families are experiencing now. She stated, “The cost of food is astronomical now and to feed a family of six is a huge amount of money.” That’s an understandable sentiment given the acute inflation concerns and rising prices of housing, food, and other essentials.
On top of this, the state pension will increase by 4.8% in April, in line with average wages. People who qualify for the new flat-rate state pension will get £241.30 a week. All this amounts to £12,547.60 per year, an increase of £574.60. Jenny Barnard of Farnham welcomed this announcement on pensions, mentioning how welcome it is in the face of increasing costs. She remarked, “It’s good. Everything’s got so expensive, and we all need that bit extra at the moment. Keeping warm is a priority.”
The government has committed to making training for under-25 apprenticeships free for SMEs. Marketing professional, Hayden Bloomfield, who goes to the Budget events in Chatham. He expressed his excitement about the new 511 initiative and hopes for its impact. He stated, “The push for apprenticeships would be super helpful for growing our business.”
The announcement has been welcomed with a lot of skepticism from local business owners as well. Tom Reveley, director of an IT firm in Kent, warned ministers, in a letter that also circulated to peers, of wider economic damage. He commented, “I don’t see it putting any kind of emphasis on any form of investment.” This view sheds light on the persistent angst that most C suite executives have in today’s economy.
Lucy Burns, who runs her own business and works weekends to support her family, echoed the concerns of rising living costs. She noted, “Everything is so expensive these days – from putting petrol in the car to childcare.” She acknowledged the benefits of government support while recognizing that additional costs remain: “Obviously we’re really grateful that we get the free [government] childcare now, but there’s obviously top-ups.”
As families adjust to these sweeping changes, education reporters around the state are on watch, covering the impacts. Michael Keohan recently wrote about goings on in Kent, Lucinda Adam about Sussex, and Jack Fiehn about Surrey. Charlotte Murphy gives us a glimpse into the exciting things happening in the wider South East region.