Boris Johnson hints at childcare announcement as PM will chair new committee to tackle raging cost of living crisis
Boris Johnson will chair a committee to tackle the cost of living crisis in the coming weeks, Downing Street said. One of the announcements will most likely include a childcare measure.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister will chair a domestic and economic strategy committee in the coming weeks to finalise the proposals before they are brought into force.”
The committee is not new, he said, and its membership includes the Prime Minister, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay.
Ministers talked through “a number of ideas” during the Cabinet meeting, No 10 said, and they will “feed into a more formal process”.
“It will meet in the next couple of weeks, I don’t have an exact time frame for you,” he said when asked about the timing.
Childcare
Johnson has hinted at a future announcement on childcare aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister led a productive discussion at Cabinet on the Government’s work to help people keep more of their money in the face of global price hikes.”
Johnson blamed external pressures for Britons facing “real pressures”, such as disruption in the global economy including due to lockdowns in China and Vladimir Putin’s “crazed malevolence”.
“He said there was more to do, including in areas like childcare, to further ease pressures for those who need it most and to get even more people into high-skilled, high-wage jobs,” the spokesman added.
Asked about the childcare measures, the official said: “I think all I can say is that this is an area where the Government recognises there is more to do.
“It is live policy work taking place and I’m sure we’ll have more to say in the future.”