Ahead of his first Budget on 28 October, Chancellor John Healey is removing import tariffs on about 100 food products and easing the carer's allowance cliff-edge, while the BBC understands fuel duty will be frozen again.
UK Chancellor John Healey is removing import tariffs on around 100 food items and other products, including marmalade, gherkins and plant-based drinks, in a package of small cost-of-living measures announced ahead of his first Budget, which he will deliver on 28 October. Tariffs on fertiliser and on kerosene used for home heating are also being removed, according to the BBC. Healey said the aim is to give families what he called 'breathing space', and the BBC reports that the government is also expected to freeze fuel duty again, including the 5p discount first introduced in 2022.
The government calculates that removing the tariffs could save a household up to £21 a year, or about 40p a week, when combined with tariff suspensions introduced in June on goods such as pasta, fruit juice and tuna; Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the total would be worth around £500m a year and admitted it was 'not everything'. Other announced measures include making higher tax-free mileage rates for work driving permanent, replacing the carer's allowance earnings cut-off with a taper so carers do not lose the whole payment, giving two weeks of paternity pay to self-employed fathers, and adding more Post Office drop boxes. The Treasury has said it will publish the full list of products on Wednesday.
Healey said the wars in Iran and Ukraine had 'hit families here at home through higher everyday costs'. The Conservatives dismissed the package, with shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith calling the offer of cheaper gherkins an insult to families, while the Food and Drink Federation noted that producing food in the UK is costlier than in neighbouring countries because of high energy costs. The BBC video shows the announcement being reported, but the savings figures are the government's own calculations and the wider Budget measures, including any tax changes, will only be confirmed when Healey speaks on 28 October.
