After launching our local Kickstart Scheme Event in Chippenham this summer, I have been front and centre of the mission to make work pay and improve job opportunities.
Together with record high levels of employment, which here in Wiltshire we have always been strong on, we are now increasing the National Living Wage next year by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour.
For a full time worker, that is a pay rise worth £1,000 and it will benefit over two million of the lowest paid in the country.
At the same time, we are cutting the Universal Credit Taper Rate by a massive 8%, from 63p on the pound to 55p, to make sure work pays and to support people who want to work.
With the increase in Work Allowances by £500, this is a tax cut next year of £2.2bn and means nearly two million families will keep, on average, an extra £1,000 a year.
The Chancellor has also committed to introducing these changes within weeks and no later than December 1st, which is a fantastic reflection of the need to support people into work. 
