A swathe of legal changes are set to come into force from April which will affect millions of people across the UK.
As the country enters a new tax year, benefits payments and pensions will go up, providing households a welcome boost as the cost of living crisis ontinues to bite.
The National Minimum Wage will increase from April, meaning millions of workers will benefit from a pay rise - although the 9.7% increase is still below inflation, which currently sits at 10.4%
Councils across the country will also raise taxes in April and several bills are set to increase, including water, broadband and mobile phones.
Elsewhere, new rules for voting in elections will soon be introduced and new cost of living payments will be issued to around eight million households.
Listed is a breakdown of eight impending changes and laws to expect from next month onwards.
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5. Pensions and benefits boost
The state pension is being hiked by 10.1% from April under the triple-lock uprating system, in line with rising living costs. Inflation-linked benefits and tax credits will also rise by 10.1%, in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation in September 2022. This includes Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, Disability Allowance and Personal Independence Payment. The benefit cap will rise from £23,000 to £25,323 for families in Greater London and from £20,000 to £22,020 for families nationally. Lower caps for single households without children will rise from £15,410 to £16,967 in Greater London and from £13,400 to £14,753 nationally. | insta_photos - stock.adobe.com
6. Energy bills
The government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme - which has seen households receive six monthly payments of £66 or £67 direct to their energy accounts to cover their gas and electricity - comes to an end from April. | Monkey Business - stock.adobe.co
7. Voter ID rules
A new requirement to provide ID to vote in elections will be introduced in 2023. Under the rules, voters must take any valid form of photo ID to the polling station in order to cast their vote. Valid ID’s include photographic driving licences, passports, biometric immigration documents and some concessionary travel passes. | chrisdorney - stock.adobe.com