The Church of England has urged the Government to measure the success of its Budget by how far it reduces poverty, as Christian charities warn that struggling households need more support with rising living costs.
Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Newcastle and the Church of England’s lead bishop in the House of Lords for economics and business, said the Budget should be judged by its impact on the poorest in society.
“The success of this budget should be measured by the extent to which it reduces poverty, expands opportunity, and upholds the dignity of every single person,” she said.
Her comments come after Chancellor John Healey announced measures on Wednesday aimed at easing pressure on household finances, including a £100 energy payment for eligible households and additional funding for social housing and homelessness services.
The Government said up to 20 million households in England, in council tax bands A to D, would receive the £100 payment from January 2027. The temporary cut to VAT on domestic electricity will also be extended until July 2027, which is expected to reduce the annual energy price cap by around £50 in April.
However, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) warned that the measures would not be enough to protect the poorest households from rising energy costs.
The debt advice charity said millions of people faced a difficult winter, with many already struggling with unmanageable energy debts and unable to afford adequate heating.
Stewart McCulloch, CAP’s chief executive, said the expected rise in energy bills would leave vulnerable households facing further financial pressure.
The charity welcomed the Government’s energy support but said the measures would cover, at best, only half of the forecast increase in bills.
It called for a national social tariff, the restart of an energy debt relief scheme and an increase in the Winter Fuel Payment to provide more targeted help.
McCulloch said CAP would work with local churches across the UK this winter to provide free debt advice, practical care and emergency support.
“Ultimately, people’s budgets do not balance and more needs to be done to truly provide the breathing space people deserve,” he added.
Bishop Helen-Ann also welcomed the Government’s commitment to tackling homelessness, after it announced a further £432m over two years to help people sleeping rough in England move off the streets.
She described the ambition to end rough sleeping as a “moral mission” and said churches played a vital role in supporting homeless people and addressing the causes of homelessness.
“We applaud this aim and will encourage the Government to do what is necessary to deliver on its aspirations,” she said.
The Budget also includes an additional £1.5bn to deliver around 10,000 social and affordable homes in England, with funding prioritised for social rent, particularly council housing. The Government said the investment would take total funding for its Social and Affordable Homes Programme to more than £40bn over ten years.
Bishop Helen-Ann welcomed efforts to help first-time buyers and increase the supply of affordable housing, but warned that opportunities remained heavily shaped by geography.
“Hunger and hardship remain unacceptable realities in our country today,” she said, adding that building an economy that served the common good would require long-term planning and difficult decisions.
Meanwhile, Christian social policy charity CARE said the Budget contained some welcome measures for families but did not go far enough.
Caroline Ansell, CARE’s director of advocacy and policy, welcomed the extension of paternity leave to self-employed fathers and new taxes on high-stakes gambling machines.
She said the charity hoped money raised through gambling taxes would help fund treatment and research into gambling addiction.
However, she argued that more fundamental reform of the tax system was needed to ensure families received adequate financial support.
CARE plans to publish proposals for family tax reform in early 2027, calling on political parties to consider how the system could better support parents and children.
The charity said raising the next generation was vital to the country’s future prosperity, as well as to fairness.