I know people are ­anxious about making ends meet but I will always support you

I KNOW people are deeply ­anxious about making ends meet.

Countries across the globe are dealing with rising fuel and energy prices as we emerge from the pandemic.

And the impact of freezing out Russia from the global markets is being felt here at home.

I know that in these uncertain times costs are increasing and budgets are tightening.

And I know that things are not easy for Sun on Sunday readers up and down the country who are trying to look after their families in these difficult times.

Since becoming Chancellor, I have always done everything in my power to support the British people.

The pandemic caused the biggest economic shock in more than 300 years and we answered with an unprecedented £400billion response which protected lives and livelihoods across the UK.

And now, while we cannot completely shield everyone from the global challenges we face, we can, and will, stand behind the British people to help you deal with these rising costs.

This week I announced a Tax Plan that delivers the biggest net cut to personal taxes in more than a quarter of a century.

Firstly, to help drivers with rising costs at the pump we have cut fuel duty by 5p.

This is the largest cut ever across all fuel duty rates and worth £2.4billion.

Secondly, we will be raising National Insurance thresholds — giving a tax cut to 30million employees, with the typical worker saving more than £330 a year.

This means a typical family, with one adult earning the average employee salary and another working 16 hours a week on the National Living Wage, with two children over five, are expected to be £3,000 a year better off due to the increase, when added alongside our other support.

As a result of the change, which comes in from July, around 70 per cent of workers who pay National Insurance will pay less than they otherwise would have — even after accounting for the introduction of the new Health and Social Care levy.

And finally, I’ve announced the first cut to the basic rate of income tax for 16 years — ensuring people keep more of what they earn.

 This will be worth £175 a year for more than 30million workers, pensioners and savers, and will come in when we expect inflation to be back under control, with national debt falling and the economy growing.

Added to this, we have doubled the size of the Household Support Fund by providing an extra £500million for local authorities to help those most in need with essentials such as food, clothing and utilities.

The plan I outlined this week comes on top of the support we have already provided to help with the cost of living this year.

We know energy bills are a particular concern, so back in February we provided targeted assistance to help protect people from rising costs through a package of support.

This means that those living in council tax bands A-D will get a £150 rebate in April, and a further £200 later in the year to help spread the cost of bills.

We’ve cut the Universal Credit taper rate and increased work allowances so lower-income households will keep more of what they earn, saving 1.7million households an extra £1,000 a year.

And next month the National Living Wage will be increasing to £9.50 an hour, an increase worth more than £1,000 to two million full-time workers.

Our Plan For Jobs has worked to protect jobs over the pandemic, with unemployment now below pre-pandemic levels.

And we are continuing to help, with our Way To Work campaign aiming to get 500,000 jobseekers into employment by the end of June.

The steps we have taken to sanction Russia are not cost-free for us at home and we will all have to pay a price for defending freedom.

And I cannot pretend that we can completely protect people from the difficult and uncertain times ahead.

But this government will continue to stand by your side and do all that we can to support you.

Our new Tax Plan will deliver a stronger economy and put billions of pounds back into the pockets of hard-working families across the UK.

And if we can continue with the spirit of strength that I’ve witnessed during the pandemic, we will get through this next challenge together and come out stronger.

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