MPs have approved a £6.9billion increase to spending on state pensions and benefits from April.

This includes a 4.1% increase to the state pension in line with the growth in average earnings while most other benefit rates will rise by 1.7% from April in line with inflation.

Speaking in the Commons, Work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms said: “The Government’s commitment to the triple lock means that the basic and full rate of the new state pension will be uprated by the highest of the growth in earnings or prices or 2.5%.

“This will mean 4.1% for 2025/26. From April this year the basic state pension will increase from £169.50 per week to £176.45, and the full rate of the new state pension will increase from £221.20 to £230.25.

“We are fully committed to maintaining the pensions triple lock.”

Sir Stephen said the Government has no plans to introduce the triple lock plus, which was a policy announced by the Tories ahead of the general election last year.

It was designed to ensure the personal allowance for income tax would rise in future in line with increases in the main rate of the new state pension.

Conservative MP Luke Evans asked Sir Stephen if the Government would adopt the policy

But the minister said: “We don’t have any plans to do what he suggests.”

Shadow work and pensions minister Danny Kruger said the Conservatives supported the move to uprate pensions although he faced questions over his party’s stance on the triple lock.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch last month suggested she would look at means testing when asked about the future of the triple lock.

Mrs Badenoch was asked whether she would “look at” the triple-lock, to which she replied: “We’re going to look at means-testing. Means-testing is something which we don’t do properly here.”

Mr Kruger said: “I think he’s misunderstood or our leader’s position has clearly been misquoted.

“We’re not looking at cancelling the triple lock, it’s his colleague the new pensions minister (Torsten Bell) who has been very clearly quoted saying that the triple lock is a silly system and indefensible.”