Budget to be announced today as SNP and Labour call for cost of living support

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The SNP has called for the UK Government to cut energy bills and increase public sector pay ahead of today's Budget.The party's economy spokesperson Stewart Hosie said the Government is "ripping families off" by imposing high energy bills.

Labour shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray also called for the Tories to offer more support to working people.Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will unveil his Spring Budget at 12:30pm today.

He is expected to make significant cuts but has been under pressure to help those who are struggling most from the cost of living crisis.Reports have suggested Hunt will axe the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme payments but will keep the energy bills capped at £2,500 year.Hosie said the Tory response was "truly pathetic" and "doesn't go anywhere near far enough to help people with the cost of living crisis".Energy companies make record profits and the wholesale price of gas has gone down 75 per cent from its peak.Hosie called on the UK government to save families £900 by reducing the Energy Price Guarantee to £2,000 a year.He also said that the Government should continue the £400 energy support payments for all households that currently receive them.Hosie said: "The real test for the UK Budget will be whether it actually puts a significant amount of money back into people's pockets - or whether the Tory government will continue ripping families off by imposing sky-high energy bills and real-terms cuts to public sector pay and benefits."This Budget is all about choices.

The Chancellor has the resources and fiscal levers needed to slash household energy bills and raise public sector pay and benefits by inflation. "There is no excuse not to act, when people's incomes are being hammered by the Tory cost of