An Evesham housing association boss has welcomed the Chancellor’s Spring Statement but urged the Government to do more to help those on benefits.

Boris Worrall, chief executive of Rooftop Housing Group, has welcomed the budget outlook announced by Rishi Sunak on Wednesday.

The Spring Statement outlined a number of measures designed to help people cope with rising costs of living.

Mr Worrall commented: “We know that increasing numbers of our customers are struggling with energy bills, fuel, and food bills.

“The reduction in fuel duty will help those spending on petrol, diesel and heating oil, but our customers are still facing large rises in gas and electricity bills.

“We are pleased that some of this issue will be addressed by The Household Support Fund increasing by £500m to £1bn.”

Mr Worrall also welcomed the rise in National Insurance threshold.

The threshold has risen by £3,000, meaning that people who earn under £35,000 a year pay less tax.

The Rooftop boss added: “those people on Universal Credit who are working will have more to take home, though this is off-set by the way UC is calculated; as income rises, UC payments taper off.

“We know that the increasing cost of living is affecting our customers who must rely on other benefits to live.

“Those relying on these benefits may not see any improvement to their household income from these changes… we urge the Government to continue to work to address this issue.”