Government will help families meet economic challenge

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Gordon Brown has promised that the Government will “do what it takes” to help families deal with the effects of the global economic crisis such as rising food and energy costs.

Speaking to business leaders at the CBI Scotland annual dinner in Glasgow this evening, the PM said that the Government would make “careful interventions” on behalf of “hard-pressed families”. In addition to the Homeowners Support Package and the £120-a-year tax cut for basic rate taxpayers, the Government was “working up proposals” with utility companies on tackling rising fuel bills.

The PM said:

“We will do what it takes to bring security to families on modest and middle incomes. And we will ensure that no-one who is prepared to work hard and adapt to change will lose out as a result of global forces. We will act responsibly to prepare people for the inescapable challenges ahead - in the short, medium and long term.”

Read the full transcript of the speech

Mr Brown also said that the UK was better placed as a whole to deal with the credit crunch than during any other period of financial turb-ulence. He highlighted Bank of England independence, a flexible labour market, the underlying strength of business finances and a reduction in public debt as a share of national income as reasons to be “cautiously optimistic” about the country’s economic resilience.

The PM added that Britain needed to undergo a “revolution” in its energy consumption, reducing its dependence on oil, increasing energy efficiency and creating a low carbon economy . The Government plans to spend £100 billion to ensure that 15 percent of the UK’s energy comes from renewables by 2020.