By Daniel Thomas, Business reporter, BBC News
Every household in the UK is to get an energy bill discount of £400 this autumn as part of a package of new measures to tackle soaring prices.
The poorest households will also get a payment of £650 to help with the cost of living, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said. It follows warnings millions could be left struggling if energy prices rise again in October as expected. Mr Sunak said he had offered “significant support” for the whole UK.
The package of new measures, worth £15bn in total, will be partly funded through a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas firms’ profits which have soared in recent months.
It comes a day after Sue Gray’s critical report into lockdown parties in Downing Street and follows intense pressure on the government to do more to help people with the cost of living crisis.
Announcing the support in the Commons, Mr Sunak said the government would also offer more targeted help to pensioners and the disabled.
“We know that people are facing challenges with the cost of living and that is why today I’m stepping in with further support to help with rising energy bills,” Mr Sunak said.
“We have a collective responsibility to help those who are paying the highest price for the high inflation we face. That is why I’m targeting this significant support to millions of the most vulnerable people in our society. I said we would stand by people and that is what this support does today.”
Earlier this week, UK energy regulator Ofgem said the typical household energy bill was set to rise by £800 in October, bringing it to £2,800 a year. Bills had already risen by £700 on average in April.
Ofgem warned that 12 million households could be pushed into fuel poverty, where they are paying more than 10% of their household income on energy.
It comes as the prices of food, fuel and other goods also surge, pushing the inflation – the rate at which prices rise – to a 40-year high.
Mr Sunak said global forces were to largely to blame for rising inflation, including the war in Ukraine, recent lockdowns in China and the continuing impact of the pandemic.
But he said the situation had “evolved and become more serious” and households were being “hit hard”.
Under the new measures, the government will scrap a plan to give everyone in England, Scotland and Wales £200 off bills from October which would be repaid over five years.
Instead, that sum will be doubled and will not need to be paid back. Meanwhile, eight million households on means-tested benefits will get £650 paid directly into their bank accounts in two lump sums – one in July, the other this autumn.
There will also be separate one-off payments of £300 to pensioner households and £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits – groups who are “most vulnerable to rising prices”.
Source: bbc.com
