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Healey pledges cheaper marmalade and gherkins in pre-Budget package of 'everyday fixes' - Published John Healey will remove import taxes on marmalade, gherkins and more than 100 products in a move to give families "breathing space" with the cost of living in the Budget. On Wednesday the chancellor will promise a fresh series of "everyday fixes" to ease the pressure on households. The measures will also include an end to the so-called cliff-edge for those receiving carer's allowance payments and higher tax-free mileage rates being made permanent. But the Conservatives said the offer of "cheaper gherkins" was "an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises". Ahead of the Budget, the government said it is removing tariffs on more than 100 "family favourite" products, while supporting farmers facing higher fertiliser costs and households reliant on heating oil. It says the changes could save households up to £21 per year when combined with existing tariff suspensions on products including pasta, fruit juice and tuna. Marmalade, for example, will see a 20% tariff, plus an additional £19 charge per 100kg imported, suspended. Healey said that the ongoing wars in Iran and Ukraine had "hit families here at home through higher everyday costs". "We can't control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference," he added. Other measures the government announced include: - Making permanent a 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with the rate rising from 25p per mile to 35p above that - Allowing carers to earn more than an existing earnings limit without losing their entire allowance, replacing it with a taper mechanism instead - Giving two weeks of paternity pay to self-employed fathers, who have previously missed out on payments of up to £194 a week for the period - And rolling out hundreds of additional Post Office drop boxes to make sending parcels easier The government will also freeze fuel duty again in the Budget, the BBC understands. As first reported in The Sun, the 5p duty discount is also set to continue. That discount was first introduced in 2022, and was due to last 12 months, but has been extended ever since. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "We are taking on the big challenges facing the country. But that doesn't mean losing sight of the everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren't fair. "If you're a nurse driving for work, a parent spending those precious first weeks with your new baby, or an unpaid carer picking up an extra shift, these changes will make life a little easier and put more money back in your pocket." But the Conservatives said Burnham's "everyday fixes" have already been wiped out by higher borrowing costs, taxes and inflation. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said: "Shoppers face rising costs at the till and families are struggling to make ends meet, but Burnham's plan is cheaper gherkins. This is an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises."
Minimum wage set to rise but 18-20 year-olds will not get bigger increase - Published The rise in the minimum wage is expected to be announced in the Budget, but 18-to-20 year-olds are set to see lower increases than in previous years, the BBC understands. Pay for younger workers will rise in line with the increase in minimum pay for employees aged 21 years and over. However, the increase for younger workers is lower than that seen in the previous two years, when Labour raised the rate to meet a manifesto promise that it would remove "discriminatory age bands" with all adults entitled to the same minimum wage. Chancellor John Healey is also announcing measures to give families what he is calling "breathing space" with the cost of living. "The manifesto pledge on equalisation still applies but we were always clear it could happen over time," Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC: "Of course, you want not just good wages but good work, " he added. "It is a balance of making sure the pressures on the labour market are taken into account." The Times reported that the National Minimum Wage for 18-to-20 year-olds is likely to rise by 3.9% from £10.85 an hour to around £11.27. That is a smaller rise than the 26% increase the Labour government has put in place for younger workers since returning to power in 2024. Even after the reported rise, the rate remains below the National Living Wage for older workers, which is currently £12.71 an hour. It is set to rise by 3.9% to £13.20, the Times said. Andrea Egan, general secretary of the union Unison, said it was "deeply unfair" to keep paying different rates for the same job. "Twenty year-old care workers, teaching assistants and security guards do the same work as their older colleagues," she said. "They don't pay less in the supermarket or at the petrol pump. They must be paid equally." 'Not going to change the world' The government has also announced a number of measures, including removing import taxes on some food and ending the so-called cliff-edge for those receiving carer's allowance payments. It says removing tariffs from 100 food items could save households up to £21 per year - or 40p a week - when combined with existing tariff suspensions that were introduced in June. "We're not going to say it is everything," Reynolds told the BBC, but taken alongside the changes implemented in the summer on goods such as pasta, fruit juice and tuna, he said it would save around £500m a year. Other measures the government announced on Tuesday included: - Making permanent a 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work, with the rate rising from 25p per mile to 35p above that - Allowing carers to earn more than an existing earnings limit without losing their entire allowance, replacing it with a taper mechanism instead. However, this will not come in until 2030 - Giving two weeks of paternity pay to self-employed fathers, who have previously missed out on payments of up to £194 a week for the period - And rolling out hundreds of additional Post Office drop boxes to make sending parcels easier Speaking to the BBC's Newscast, Healey said: "None of this is going to change the world. But if it helps around the margins and its action the government can take, then I want try and fix it." The government will also freeze fuel duty again in the Budget, the BBC understands. The 5p duty discount is also set to continue. That discount was first introduced in 2022, and was due to last 12 months, but has been extended ever since. - What is the Budget and what could be in it? - Published2 hours ago The list of products the government is removing tariffs on includes: - Baked beans - Garlic - Gherkins - Chocolate-coated wafers and waffles - Boiled sweets - Toffees, caramels and similar sweets - Citrus jams, marmalades and pastes - Throat pastilles and cough drops - Plant-based drinks including soya, nut, cereal or seed - Kerosene - Fertilisers The government said removing tariffs on fertiliser aimed to help farmers, while changes to import levies on kerosene is targeted at households that rely on heating oil. The Treasury said it would publish on Wednesday a full list of the products that will have tariffs removed. A tariff is an import duty paid by domestic businesses buying products from overseas. Asked why the government was making it cheaper to buy goods from abroad rather than cutting business costs for UK firms, Reynolds said: "Where you can make a reduction in the cost of importing goods into the UK, when you think you can balance that with your domestic economic interests, that's a decision we will take." But Balwinder Dhoot, director of sustainability and growth at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said: "It's more expensive to make food and drink here in the UK than in many of our close neighbours, as businesses face such high energy costs." The Conservatives said the government's "everyday fixes" had already been wiped out by higher borrowing costs, taxes and inflation. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said: "Shoppers face rising costs at the till and families are struggling to make ends meet, but Burnham's plan is cheaper gherkins. This is an insult to families hammered by Labour's tax rises." Get in touch How will these new measures help you? 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