Editing 2021–present United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis (section)

=== Government ===
Early government responses to rising inflation included a 6.6% rise in the minimum wage, which was announced in 2021, and came into effect in April 2022. The UK government intensified its efforts to respond to the cost-of-living crisis in May 2022, with a £5bn [[Windfall tax (United Kingdom)|windfall tax]] on energy companies to help fund a £15bn support package for the public. The package included every household getting a £400 discount on energy bills, which would be in addition to a £150 council tax refund the government had already ordered. For about 8 million of the UK's lowest income households, a further £650 payment was announced. Additionally, pensioners or those with disability would qualify for extra payments, on top of the £550 that every household gets, and the £650 they would receive if they had a low income.<ref name="numbers"/><ref>{{cite web |author=The editorial board |date=27 May 2022 |title=A striking U-turn to alleviate the UK cost of living crisis |url=https://www.ft.com/content/05e49e39-a569-4346-88b9-4543ec9efbe1 |work=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=12 June 2022 |archive-date=27 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527171709/https://www.ft.com/content/05e49e39-a569-4346-88b9-4543ec9efbe1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Clinton |first=Jane |date=10 June 2022 |title=How will the £650 one-off payment be paid? If you should apply for cost of living support and who is eligible |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/how-apply-for-650-one-off-payment-paid-who-cost-living-help-1679452 |work=[[iNews]] |access-date=12 June 2022 |archive-date=10 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610094451/https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/how-apply-for-650-one-off-payment-paid-who-cost-living-help-1679452 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Daniel |date=15 June 2022 |title=Millions to get first cost-of-living payment from 14 July |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61802109 |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614235125/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61802109 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In June 2022, business secretary [[Kwasi Kwarteng]] ordered an urgent review of the motor fuel market to complete by 7 July, to see if consumer prices were excessively high.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ford Rojas |first=John-Paul |date=12 June 2022 |title=Cost of living crisis: 'Urgent' review of fuel market ordered amid surging pump prices |url=https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-crisis-urgent-review-of-fuel-market-ordered-amid-surging-pump-prices-12632477 |work=[[Sky News]] |access-date=13 June 2022 |archive-date=13 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613075233/https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-crisis-urgent-review-of-fuel-market-ordered-amid-surging-pump-prices-12632477 |url-status=live }}</ref> The measures were called insufficient by many people and organisations, including outgoing Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]], with the Bank of England predicting that the UK would enter recession by 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 May 2022 |title=Boris Johnson admits efforts to ease cost of living crisis not enough |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/03/boris-johnson-efforts-to-ease-cost-of-living-crisis-not-enough |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819165340/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/03/boris-johnson-efforts-to-ease-cost-of-living-crisis-not-enough |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2022 |title='Lost generation': small businesses folding across UK as energy bills land |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/19/uk-small-businesses-forced-to-close-by-soaring-energy-bills |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819151733/https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/19/uk-small-businesses-forced-to-close-by-soaring-energy-bills |url-status=live }}</ref>

Johnson's successor [[Liz Truss]] announced a package of subsidies for rising energy bills with an estimated potential cost of up to £150{{Nbsp}}billion, depending on future wholesale prices.<ref name=":0" /> The main piece of this package was the [[Energy Price Guarantee]], which would mean that a UK household with "average energy usage" would pay no more than £2,500 a year on energy, although this was widely misinterpreted as Truss stated in media interviews that "nobody would pay more than £2,500". She later clarified this, while ruling out introducing a new windfall tax on the profits of energy producers and suppliers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ward-Glenton |first=Hannah |title=UK PM Truss to unleash billions to help with energy bills. But there are big questions over funding |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/08/uks-liz-truss-will-unleash-billions-of-pounds-to-help-with-energy-bills.html |access-date=11 September 2022 |work=[[CNBC]] |language=en |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911133317/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/08/uks-liz-truss-will-unleash-billions-of-pounds-to-help-with-energy-bills.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=8 September 2022 |title=Energy bills to be capped at £2,500 for typical household |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62831698 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911135057/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62831698 |url-status=live }}</ref> The subsidies were initially planned to last for two years for consumers and six months for businesses, but in October the new Chancellor [[Jeremy Hunt]] said that the package would continue until April 2023 and that from this date support would be targeted at "the most vulnerable."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barrett |first=Claer |date=17 October 2022 |title=UK household energy bills to rise as Hunt redraws support scheme |work=[[Financial Times]] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a9668dab-d495-4331-9e8c-fc580af254c7 |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018161107/https://www.ft.com/content/a9668dab-d495-4331-9e8c-fc580af254c7 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

After his appointment as prime minister in October 2022 following Truss' resignation [[October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis|amid an economic and credibility crisis]] caused by [[September 2022 United Kingdom mini-budget|the September 2022 mini-budget]] proposed by Truss and Kwarteng, [[Rishi Sunak]] continued the package of subsidies for rising energy bills. As chancellor, he provided some funding to help vulnerable people cope with the rising cost of living.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 March 2022 |title=Spring Statement: Rishi Sunak seeks to combat cost-of-living squeeze |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60848315 |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324002010/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60848315 |archive-date=24 March 2022}}</ref>

In October 2022, the Scottish Government introduced [[Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022|an act]] to freeze rents and establish a moratorium on evictions in Scotland for both the private rented and social sectors.