Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to announce a decision on whether millions of Brits on Universal Credit see their benefits cut this Halloween.
The Chancellor previously told MPs that he would release more details surrounding his medium-term fiscal plan and whether this will include an increase in payouts in line with rising prices in April. It comes after Mr Kwarteng brought forward the original plan to October 31 to help quell market fears after weeks of economic turmoil stemming from the government's mini-budget.
Despite this, the chancellor is yet to confirm whether the government will scrap the previous Prime Minister's pledge to increase benefits in line with inflation, the Mirror reports. "No decisions have been made," Mr Kwarteng said.
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"There's a natural, usual, statutory process that's being undertaken and we will have more detail at the time of the medium term fiscal plan." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Liz Truss confirmed that a timeline will be announced, they said: "I believe he has confirmed that is his intention to do that, so he will come forward with that decision."
Following concerns from the public, Downing Street also confirmed that the Prime Minister has no plans to make a return to austerity. A spokesperson said: “Clearly we recognise in the first instance it will be the Chancellor who comes forward with our medium-term fiscal plan, we will set out our position then.
“These are challenging times and we have made significant interventions costing many billions to provide the necessary support to protect people from these global challenges. Obviously, that will require some decisions on spending, but it will be the Chancellor who comes forward to set those out.”
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