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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2022 12:40:57 GMT
Every household to get energy bill discounts of £400 this autumn Just now 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 that millions could be left struggling if energy prices rise again in October as expected.
Mr Sunak said he had offered "significant support" for households who were facing "acute distress".
The package of new measures, worth £15bn in total, will also offer more targeted help to pensioners and the disabled.
It 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.
Live page: Millions to get support with energy bills Typical energy bill set to rise by £800 a year Two-child families paying £400 a month more Announcing the support in the Commons, Mr Sunak said: "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.
"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.
'Hit hard'
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.
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 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" The emergency Household Support Fund, which is allocated by councils, will also be extended by £500m The measures add to around £17bn of support already given by the government. This included one-off £150 council tax rebates for most homes in England and Wales and matched funding for the other devolved nations.
The government had until now rejected the idea of a windfall tax on energy firms' profits, saying it could deter investment in the UK.
But Mr Sunak said the oil and gas sector was "making extraordinary profits" and that he was "sympathetic to the argument to tax those profits fairly".
However, in seeking a "sensible middle ground" energy suppliers will also be able to apply for tax relief of 90p for every pound they invest in UK oil and gas projects.
Mr Sunak said he also believed there was a case for taxing electricity suppliers more, announcing a consultation on the idea.
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Post by gordo on May 26, 2022 15:09:25 GMT
Surely it would have been easier to remove Standing Charges, or at the very least, have them reduced to the most minimal. For this idea grand and wonderful as it sounds, is gonna do nothing at all for anyone with a prepaid meter. They can't wait 'till July. They can't afford their power here and now. And welcome as this help could be, it still leave many folks facing huge bills.
But we wouldn't be seeing such extortionate power price rises had the utilities not been sold off and privatized by the tories in the 1980s, and which Labour did nothing about. The very least, they could have had stricter regulation, but the tories allowed a free for all, and many other mistakes, like reducing the Gas storage systems to next to nothing. We now see the consequences of such appalling short sightedness from UK Govt.
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Post by philbadfactor on May 27, 2022 10:35:21 GMT
I've just copy pasted this from comments on the guardian website. What do you think ? Are we ESA recipients doomed ?
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Post by gordo on May 27, 2022 12:15:06 GMT
It appears to me, from what I've heard on wireless, etc, and talking to some pals, this announcement from UK Govt. has caused total confusion! Well, they say every UK Household will get the £400, regardless of anything. It's only certain other groups like the Pensioners who get the extra 600, and Disability groups, that is, those on things like PIP, get extra 150, and so on. I'd expect those on ESA should come into that category. But it remains to be seen. However, a lot of other folks on benefits seem to think they too will get this extra 400. But that isn't gonna happen. It is going directly to the Householder. Anyone else will be left rather badly let down very soon, I'd say, when the reality hits.
As I say above, doing away with Standing Charges, or reducing them to the most minimal, is what is necessary. Raising the benefit levels, and Min Wage is also an essential thing. But the UK Govt. has no intentions of doing either. There will be an awful lot of folks on low incomes, either in low paid work, or benefits, etc, who will not get anything out of this, even tho, they too are being hit hard by the Cost of Living Crisis. And the Govt. response to these groups is to insult them, telling them they should get better paid work, or buy the cheapest possible foods! So, while this new help will certainly be useful, it does not really deal with the problems, which are only going to get worse for the time being.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2022 13:03:35 GMT
I have absolutely no doubt at all that the Tory Government will eventually means test ALL benefits. That’s probably not far off. Contributory ESA will cease to exist and PIP will become taxable. I’ve thought this for a long time. This is not typically Tory other than that they’ll end up paying less out. They would actually be far happier if we all just faded away and died.
Going back to Thatcher’s reign there was always encouragement for people to help themselves. Now, typically, those that did will be penalised. If you own your own home, if you’ve saved in a pension or accumulated a small ‘buffer’ of savings the bastard Tories will penalise you. The new beneficiaries will be those who’ve never done anything and who haven’t contributed to Society at all.
Our Society is completely f*caked and there’s nothing we can do.
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
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Post by gordo on May 27, 2022 17:58:31 GMT
BBC News has just given us a review of what we can expect from this energy payment stuff, and who can expect it. One very important point we do get in this report, is that this £400 is not going into anyone's Bank Account, but it instead, is taken off their bills by their energy provider! And also, not all the Pensioners will be able to get all of this £650 extra. All Pensioners will be getting an additional £300 in winter on top of the 200 paid to them at that time of year, basically, making it 500, this time. I must admit to being confused with this £650 for certain other groups. As I said above, they have managed to create maximum confusion here, and we are still none the wiser over many aspects of this deal. In response to Phil's post above, there is a telling paragraph that lists the various Disability benefits that qualify for the extra funds above the standard across the board £400. It doesn't mention ESA! UK Govt would do well to go over that, but will they? It is clear this has all been done on the hoof, in a blind panic, and that they're still trying to work the entire thing thru! ...." Anyone receiving the following benefits will be entitled to the extra £150: Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Scottish Disability Benefits, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance and War Pension Mobility Supplement." .............. From BBC News.............. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61592496
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Post by philbadfactor on May 27, 2022 20:11:04 GMT
I'm thinking it was designed to take partygate off the headlines and not much more. clever.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2022 7:01:57 GMT
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Post by philbadfactor on May 28, 2022 16:24:34 GMT
Cheers for the link Herr G. As I was moved from Income Support to ESA I assume I'm on Income Based if memory serves. I imagine the difference is that Contributions based are more folks who have worked more recently ? I've heard nowt from our council about the £150 CT discount. or about these earlier in the year payments whatever they were.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2022 6:38:48 GMT
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Post by gordo on Jul 29, 2022 6:32:24 GMT
TOTAL CONFUSION!!!We learn now, how UK Govt intends to pay out this money. And actually, it creates even more confusion than we already had! The way UK Govt announced this scheme, it sounded so simple and straight forward. But as I've said before, we had folks on benefits who thought they would get this fund, but I pointed out to those ppl, only the Householder gets this, not just anyone who gets a benefit, and as a result, very, very many folks have found themselves bitterly disappointed, as I had predicted. However, it now turns out that this payment will be in monthly installments, and/or in vouchers, depending on meter systems, and for others, they might find they end up getting nothing, again depending on meter systems. It is a quite shambolic policy. And an ineffective one for most of us. I must add as an aside, there was a tory MP girning off, that his family was concerned how they'd pay their energy bills. A tory MP getting tens of thousand each year? Sure thing. How truly insulting!!! from BBC NEWS.............. " Households will see a discount of £66 applied to their energy bills in October and November, and £67 a month from December to March 2023.
But how the money is received will depend on how you pay your bill.
Customers paying by direct debit, either monthly or quarterly, will see an automatic deduction off those bills.
Those with "smart" pre-payment devices will see an automatic monthly top-up added to their account, meaning they will have to add less credit to their meter for the total energy they use.
But those with older "non-smart" pre-payment devices will not get this money automatically.
Instead, they will receive an energy bill discount voucher in the first week of each month, via text, email or in the post. Customers will have to redeem these in person at their usual top-up point, such as a local Post Office. " ..................................................................... Here is the full Beeb report............... www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62338543
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2022 8:59:06 GMT
Another Tory shambles!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2022 9:01:54 GMT
Brexit Bastards will be responsible for thousands of deaths. Well done you utter twàts. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
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