The annual ITV could be eliminated to reduce the cost of living without additional expenses

Annual MOTs could be scrapped and childcare regulations relaxed as part of a package of plans to lower the cost of living without spending more government money.

Next month, Boris Johnson hopes to announce a set of measures that can tackle the crisis with regulatory changes and corporate “nudges”.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ruled out raising debt or raising taxes again before the fall, when he will announce a second support package to deal with the inevitable rise in energy bills.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, will head a national and economic strategy committee that will agree on the measures to be implemented in the Whitehall flats.

On Tuesday, he held a cabinet meeting in which all ministers were asked to come up with ideas on how to deal with the costs of living in a fiscally neutral way.

Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested changing MOT rules so that testing is only required every two years instead of annually, which would lower costs for motorists.

Another idea discussed at the meeting would be to increase the maximum number of children a single nanny can care for, to lower the average price of a childcare spot.

Nadine Dorries, Secretary for Culture, wants to encourage other departments to share data about people to ensure that people are aware of all the existing benefits and supports for which they are eligible; for example, all those who get pension credit can also automatically claim several. other payments.

Mr Johnson’s committee, which also includes the chancellor, Dominic Raab and Steve Barclay, will look at dozens of ideas expected to be put forward by various departments and decide which ones should be part of the final package.

Sunak has told the prime minister he is not prepared to offer more money in coming months after pledging 22 billion pounds of support this month. A source close to the Chancellor said i: “The Prosecutor’s Office cannot always be the solution to these things. We are in a difficult situation, we just have to look at public finances”.

However, it plans to introduce a new support package from October, when the cap on domestic energy bills will be raised again by up to 50 percent. The new measures will be drafted over the summer and could be announced in August.

Short-term proposals designed to close the gap that have already been put forward in recent weeks include a push to encourage telcos and broadband companies to keep customers informed of discounted rates they may be eligible for. , lowering the cost of fertilizer so farmers can control food prices, and changing universal credit rules to allow claimants to keep more of their payments.

At Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, ministers clashed over the best approach to take, with Jacob Rees-Mogg defending further tax cuts and suggesting the UK’s net-zero emissions target should be shelved, only to be slapped in the face by the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who insisted promoting renewables would drive down energy prices.

PM support menu

Rarer ITV
An idea proposed by Grant Shapps would reduce the requirement that motorists have their car MOT tested every two years instead of every year, halving the long-term cost of testing. The AA said: “While well-intentioned, moving the £55 annual spend on an MOT to every two years could worsen costs for drivers with higher repair bills, make our roads more dangerous and put drivers at risk. jobs in the garage industry.

child care rules
Another proposal would allow childminders to care for more children per person, which could lower the cost of childcare by lowering staffing costs. But the National Day Care Association said: “We risk putting additional pressure on an overworked workforce while undermining efforts to give children the best start in life.”

telecommunications bills
Some companies that provide telephone and broadband services offer “social tariffs” of between £10 and £25 a month to customers who receive certain benefits such as universal credit, but regulator Ofcom estimates that no more than 2 per cent of eligible households claim them. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has written to telecommunications chiefs asking how they can reach the nearly 5 million families who do not accept the tariffs and promote awareness of the programme.

agricultural fertilizer
Environment Secretary George Eustice has introduced changes to help farmers deal with a global shortage of fertilizer and rising prices of what is available. Anti-pollution rules limiting the use of urea fertilizers will be suspended for a year, while farmers will be paid to help store natural fertilizer until needed. Eustice hopes this will curb increases in the cost of food in stores.

Benefit Changes
The Department for Work and Pensions has frozen the amount of money universal credit applicants automatically send to their energy providers to avoid a significant reduction in their net income. Instead, claimants can talk to the energy companies themselves to find out how much more they have to pay and if there are ways to reduce their use instead of paying much more. Households are also urged to double-check what benefits they are eligible for, because the department’s budget includes millions of pounds in unclaimed funds.