ANNUAL MOTs could soon be scrapped under UK government plans to ease the cost of living crisis. 

The proposal to change the need for cars over three years old to be tested every 12 months for roadworthiness was discussed at Tuesday's cabinet.

Boris Johnson asked his ministers to come to the meeting with solutions to rising costs.

However, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak reportedly refusing to spend any money - warning that a splurge of government cash could further fuel inflation - the senior Tories had to find ways to save money without spending money. 

Other ideas floated included speeding up plans to cut the legally required ratio between adults and children in childcare settings in England, and the removal of tariffs on food that cannot be produced in the UK.

According to reports, there were fierce disagreements between members of the cabinet. 

Home Office minister Kit Malthouse suggested cutting taxes was the only way of helping families.

While Jacob Rees-Mogg called for Net Zero targets to be abandoned in a bid to reduce bills.

However, after the discussion, Kwame Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy made clear his disagreement with his colleague. 

“Nuclear and renewables are cheaper than burning gas. Our Energy Security Strategy sets out a long-term plan to generate more cheap, clean power in Britain - for Britain. The more cheap, clean power we generate at home, the less exposed we'll be to expensive gas prices,” he tweeted.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister would sign off on new support when he chaired a “domestic and economic strategy committee” in the “coming weeks”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson told ministers “there was more to do, including in areas like childcare, to further ease pressures for those who need it most and to get even more people into high-skilled, high-wage jobs”.

He declined to give more details about the plan, saying it was “live policy work taking place and I’m sure we’ll have more to say in the future”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman refused to be drawn on leaks from Cabinet because “it’s important that this policy work is able to be done properly before being set out”, but he added: “I think the public can be reassured that we are considering every possible option to ensure the public can keep more of their money and we can reduce the burdens on them in the face of these global inflationary pressures.”

The spokesman said the committee examining the proposals was not new and its membership included the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay.

“It will meet in the next couple of weeks, I don’t have an exact time frame for you”, he said when asked about the timing.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he wants to see “an emergency budget, not a Cabinet meeting” to address the cost-of-living crisis.

He told reporters in Stevenage: “The cost-of-living crisis has been staring us in the face for six months now and it’s a real problem for people struggling with their bills – and the Cabinet meeting this morning isn’t going to change any of that.”

The Government has done “very little in relation to energy bills” and “made a bad situation worse by choosing to put taxes up”, he said.

Following reports that shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy had urged Sir Keir to stop focusing on the partygate scandal and instead make the cost-of-living crisis the centre of his pitch to voters, the Labour leader said: “When we started the campaign, we had a laser-like focus on the cost of living and we’ve maintained that throughout…”

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson told ministers “there was more to do, including in areas like childcare, to further ease pressures for those who need it most and to get even more people into high-skilled, high-wage jobs”.

He declined to give more details about the plan, saying it was “live policy work taking place and I'm sure we'll have more to say in the future”.