Rishi Sunak said Britain needs to “move on” from high spending and borrowing as he marked the “unprecedented” support made available during the cost-of-living crisis.

The Prime Minister said he was “proud” that, as of Wednesday, pensioner households had received up to £600 to assist with the raised cost of energy bills over Christmas.

Energy bills rocketed in the aftermath of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with ministers intervening to soften the impact on household finances.

But Mr Sunak said, with the economy stabilising and inflation dropping, the UK needed to “move on from the high spending, high borrowing, and high tax approach that was necessary” during the coronavirus pandemic and the energy crisis.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the support available to pensioners through winter fuel and cost-of-living payments between November 21 and December 7 had been worth £4.8 billion.

Officials said 99% of those eligible had received the available financial support, with payments to continue up to January 26.

Meanwhile, households on means-tested benefits have been eligible for cost-of-living support worth up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year, with a final payment of £299 due to be paid in February.

Conservative Party leader Mr Sunak, while welcoming the support laid on by the Government, said he hoped to move away from high borrowing and pointed to a national insurance tax cut coming next month.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the November autumn statement that contributions for employees will fall from 12% to 10% from January 6, meaning a worker earning £35,000 will see more than £450 added to their payslips over the course of a year.

Mr Sunak said: “Rewarding hard working people and making sure that they have more money in their pocket is a personal priority.

“It is why I pledged to halve inflation, which eats into your pay packet, makes your mortgage more expensive, and erodes your savings.

“Last month, we met this target and we hit it early. There is more work to do to reduce inflation further, but we are on the right track.

“My Government has provided unprecedented cost-of-living support to those who need it most – worth up to £900 for those on means-tested benefits.

“I am proud that today eligible pensioners have received up to £600 to help with their energy bill this Christmas.

“That’s 11.9 million winter fuel payments and pensioner cost-of-living payments – worth over £4.8 billion.

“But now that inflation has come down and the British economy has proved more resilient than was expected, we need to move on from the high spending, high borrowing, and high tax approach that was necessary to get us through Covid and the energy price shock.

“That is why – in just three weeks’ time – we are starting the new year with a tax cut.

“We are cutting national insurance to deliver a £450 tax cut for the average earner, leaving more money in your pocket each month.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “Today shows we have honoured our commitment to protect pensioners throughout the cold winter months by paying out £4.8 billion of direct support in a matter of days.

“As well as getting this vital money to millions of pensioners, we have fulfilled our pledge to halve inflation and boosted the state pension through the ‘triple lock’ to ensure pensioners are supported after a lifetime of work.”

The triple lock, which has become a hallmark of recent Tory governments, refers to the commitment to raise the state pension every year by wage growth, inflation or 2.5% – whichever is highest.

Pensioners will get an 8.5% state pension increase from next April, after the Chancellor used his autumn fiscal event to seal his commitment to the triple lock.

The DWP said it means the state pension will rise to more than £11,500 a year, increasing to £221.20 a week.