Healey cuts food tariffs and freezes fuel duty ahead of Budget

Chancellor John Healey is cutting import tariffs on 100 food items and freezing fuel duty ahead of Wednesday’s Budget to give UK families relief against global cost pressures, alongside planned adjustments to minimum wage pay scales for younger workers.

UK Removes Food Tariffs to Lower Living Expenses

Chancellor John Healey framed the package as a way to offer households breathing space against rising living expenses driven by ongoing international conflicts as the UK government is removing import taxes on some food items and freezing fuel duty ahead of Wednesday’s Budget.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds noted that removing tariffs from 100 food items, taken alongside changes implemented in the summer on goods such as pasta, fruit juice, and tuna, could save households up to £21 per year when combined with previous tariff suspensions introduced in June.

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Younger Workers Face Slower Minimum Wage Increases

The National Minimum Wage for 18-to-20-year-olds is expected to rise by 3.9% from £10.85 an hour to around £11.27, leaving the rate below the National Living Wage for older workers, which is currently £12.71 an hour and is set to rise by 3.9% to £13.20, while 18-to-20-year-olds will see smaller increases than in previous years even as minimum wage rates rise across the board.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds defended the timeline by pointing to economic pressures, contrasting with prior manifesto commitments to eliminate age bands entirely.

Of course, you want not just good wages but good work. It is a balance of making sure the pressures on the labour market are taken into account.

Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary

Unions Criticize Pay Scales for Younger Workers

Andrea Egan, general secretary of the union Unison, argued that discriminatory pay scales remain deeply unfair for younger workers facing identical consumer prices.

More on this story: John Healey Cuts Food Tariffs and Freezes Fuel Duty · Healey slashes tariffs on marmalade, gherkins

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Twenty year-old care workers, teaching assistants and security guards do the same work as their older colleagues. They don’t pay less in the supermarket or at the petrol pump. They must be paid equally.

Andrea Egan, general secretary of the union Unison