UK government sets out cost of living plan | BBC News

追加: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]The UK Chancellor of the Excheer has outlined a package of support for households to help ease the cost of living pressures this summer. Rachel Reeves launching what she's calling the Great British Summer Savings Scheme. It is anchored by free bus travel for children in England this August. Food tariffs will be suspended on imports of more than 100 products including biscuits, chocolate, and dried fruit and nuts. Today's package of measures includes a series of smaller announcements which the Treasury claims would benefit consumers to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds, but it won't include help for households facing higher energy bills with targeted measures expected to be launched in the autumn. The chancellor announced a temporary cut to to VAT, which is the tax that you pay when you buy goods or services on a range of summer attractions like fairs, theme parks, and cinemas.

[00:00:49]I recognize that what matters for families is not just getting by, but being able to enjoy time together without worrying about the next bill.

[00:00:58]That is why I am launching the Great British Summer Savings Scheme to help families and support our hospitality sector. So, I can today announce a temporary cut in the rate of VAT on summer attractions from 20% to 5% over the summer holidays.

[00:01:17]This will apply to ticket prices for both adults and children covering attractions such as fairs, theme parks, zoos, and museums.

[00:01:26]>> It will include children's tickets for cinemas, concerts, soft play, and the theater. And it will cut the cost of children's meals in restaurants and cafes from 20% VAT to 5% as well.

[00:01:41]These changes will apply across the UK from the start of the Scottish school holidays on the 25th of June and run until the end of school holidays in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland on the 1st of September.

[00:01:54]>> The Chancellor says the government will also bring forward changes to how oil and gas companies are taxed in relation to their overseas activities.

[00:02:03]Currently, some oil and gas groups that operate overseas through foreign branches have structured their tax affairs in a way which ensures they pay little or no corporation tax on their UK energy trading profits. Today, we are putting an end to that practice.

[00:02:22]>> We expect these reforms to raise hundreds of millions of pounds a year and fund the package of measures set out today. Well, let's take a look at how other governments around the world are attempting to drive down the cost of living. Vietnam has scrapped multiple fuel taxes until the end of June. In Spain, too, there's measures to limit the cost of petrol and diesel as part of an emergency package worth8 billion US, as well as a plan to tackle soaring rents. The Australian government is bringing in direct relief for all taxpayers, the equivalent of up to $190.

[00:02:54]The cost of medicine is also being capped. Japan began tackling this cost of living crisis last November through a massive $135 billion stimulus package.

[00:03:05]And in France, the government increased the minimum wage to around $14 an hour at the start of the year, as well as providing energy vouchers for households.

[00:03:14]So that's a look at what's happening around the world. But what about the response to what was announced here in the UK today and other concerns that people have around the cost of living?

[00:03:23]With me is the director of Delta Poll, Joe Twimman. Joe, good to see you.

[00:03:27]You've got a new survey out this month.

[00:03:29]And really, it seems to be the cost of living that people are most concerned about.

[00:03:32]>> Yes, that's right. That's a situation that has been the case now, not for months, but for years. Nearly twothirds of people place uh place the cost of living in their top three concerns facing them and their families. If you ask about concerns facing the country, it's still the most popular option. More than half of people selecting it then.

[00:03:52]In fact, it's only among supporters of Reform UK that that's not the case. They uh they believe that immigration is the most important issue facing the country.

[00:04:01]But even that group believes it's the most important cost of living is most important for them and their families.

[00:04:06]>> Where does the NHS come in with the poll? Because that's often quite high too.

[00:04:10]>> When you're asking about people and their families, it is the second most uh uh second most popular chosen option.

[00:04:17]But when you ask people about the country generally immigration overtakes that. So it dep it does it's one of those cases where it does depend on how you ask the question.

[00:04:25]>> And what about perception? How do people feel that the country is working at the moment?

[00:04:29]>> Well, this is really the key point because you can make all the announcements you like on the cost of living and specific measures intended to deal with that. But if people don't perceive it making a change to them, it the chance of it actually benefiting you politically is very small. At the moment we have a situation uh where more than four in 10 people believe that their own economic situation is going to get worse over the next 12 months and around one in seven thinks it's going to get a lot worse. Only around one in five think their situation will improve and the government will be looking to address that and to get people to perceive that things are getting better.

[00:05:05]>> Do you think this great British summer savings scheme announced by Rachel Reeves today will shift the dial then?

[00:05:10]>> It's too early to tell. I think it's a I think it's a start. But the question is will people perceive it and that is a real challenge.