PM overrules Hunt on triple lock pledge
LIZ Truss has snubbed her new Chancellor to guarantee a 10.1 per cent hike in pensions after announcing the triple lock is safe.
The pledge had been under threat after Jeremy Hunt warned everything was up for review now he has taken over at the Treasury.
But the Prime Minister declared she was “completely committed” to the lock following a backlash from Tory MPs and campaigners.
She told the Commons: “We’ve been clear in our manifesto that we will maintain the triple lock and I’m completely committed to it – so is the Chancellor.
“We are protecting the triple lock on pensions to ensure pensioners get the most generous support, as well as providing extra support with their energy bills.”
Mr Hunt was considering ditching the promise due to the squeeze on the public finances in the wake of the mini-Budget fiasco. Downing Street said the decision was taken “jointly” by Ms Truss and Mr Hunt yesterday before her appearance at the despatch box.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said it reflected the “unique position” of pensioners who are unable to increase their income through work. The Tory manifesto in 2019 committed to the triple lock, which guarantees the state pension will increase in line with the highest figure of average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
It was suspended during the pandemic as earnings soared when people returned to work from furlough and Covid curbs, but was expected to be restored in time for next April’s pension rise.
Failure to reintroduce it could have cost a single pensioner £442 a year. But Lord Foulkes, a champion for older people, said campaigners must be “vigilant” the Government does not backtrack again.
Writing in the Daily Express, he added: “We are all now confused by this double U-turn and the division between the PM and her Chancellor.
“It would be daft to accept her latest assurance as it is the Chancellor who will be delivering the Budget.”
Age UK said: “Until we see the Chancellor’s plan, we can’t be sure the triple lock is safe.
“With the cost of living rising, the Government must reinstate the triple lock and uprate benefits to protect the poorest.”
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “After such a trying time, pensioners need certainty about how their state pension will be uprated, and there still may be worries that given the
pace of U-turns we have seen, this latest promise can’t be guaranteed.”
Around 12.5 million people get the state pension. Most qualify under the old lower-paid system, which would mean their £141.85 a week rising by a little over £14.
The new state pension, for those retiring after April 6, 2016, is paid at a higher rate of £185.15. It would rise by £18.70 to £203 a week.
But Labour refused to commit to keeping the triple lock if it wins power. Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “We don’t want to see more pensioners pushed into poverty.
“But what I’m not going to do is make commitments for the next general election because we don’t know what we’re going to inherit.
“We think it’s going to be the worst economic situation that an incoming government has inherited in the last century. And every commitment we make at the next election will be fully costed, will set out how we’re going to spend people’s money.”
However, despite another aboutturn on the triple lock, reports emerged that the PM was about to U-turn on predecessor Boris Johnson’s social care policy.
He had announced an £86,000 cap on the cost of care over a person’s lifetime from next October. Anyone with assets of less than £20,000 will not have to make any contribution to their care from savings or the value of their home.
And those with assets of between £20,000 and £100,000 will be eligible for some support.
But Mr Hunt is now said to be eyeing a one-year delay to the reforms to save £1billion.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “There will be a legitimate fear that a oneyear delay could turn into a decision to ditch the cap permanently.”
Ms Truss scrapped the rise in national insurance contributions that Mr Johnson had introduced to fund the social care reforms. However, she previously committed to keeping the changes, saying they would be paid for through other means.
Conservative former minister James Cartlidge said: “As I understand, the cap may be delayed or even not come into force at all. We should all be very concerned about that.”