Chancellor John Healey will suspend import tariffs on more than 100 food staples and everyday products as part of a fresh package of cost-of-living measures announced ahead of the Budget on Wednesday. The government said the changes could save households up to £21 per year when combined with existing tariff suspensions already in place on items including pasta, fruit juice and tuna. Marmalade, for example, faces a 20 per cent tariff plus an additional £19 charge per 100 kilogrammes when imported, which will now be suspended.
Healey said the moves would give families "breathing space" with household finances. He linked the action to international crises, saying the wars in Iran and Ukraine had "hit families here at home through higher everyday costs". He added: "We can't control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference." Prime Minister Andy Burnham framed the measures as tackling "everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren't fair", saying they would help nurses driving for work, parents with newborns and unpaid carers.
The Budget announcement also includes several other support measures. The government will make permanent a tax-free mileage rate of 55 pence per mile for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with the rate rising from 25 pence to 35 pence per mile above that threshold. Carers will be allowed to earn more without losing their entire allowance, with a taper mechanism replacing the existing cliff-edge system. Self-employed fathers will receive two weeks of paternity pay, worth up to £194 per week, a benefit previously unavailable to them. The government will also roll out hundreds of additional Post Office drop boxes to make sending parcels easier.
The Conservatives rejected the package as insufficient. Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said the measures amounted to "cheaper gherkins" and were "an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises". He argued that any savings would be outweighed by rising costs at the till, with families struggling to make ends meet despite Healey's planned changes.