Chancellor will say he wants to help families and pensioners with the cost of living – a move that will cost the government £800m The chancellor, George Osborne, will announce plans to extend the council tax freeze in England for a further year as a sign of his determination to ease the cost of living, seen by the government as the biggest issue facing struggling families. The freeze in 2013 will cost £800m and extends a Conservative manifesto commitment to freeze the highly visible tax for two years. On Monday Osborne will say the money has been found due to underspending across Whitehall. It will be the third announcement in recent weeks from ministers of extra spending due to an underspend elsewhere. The government has also put up a £500m capital investment fund, and the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, announced an extra £250m to help councils reintroduce weekly bin