Sunak ‘looking at options’ to fix sky-high bills crisis
RISHI Sunak promises to “look at all the options” as households struggle with the cost-of-living crisis.
The Chancellor, as tens of millions face rocketing interest rates, squeezed living standards and wage stagnation, said theTreasury is working hard “to find ways in which we can continue to ease the burden for families”.
Families will receive a flurry of sky-high bills with inflation threatening to soar to 10 per cent. But the next Budget is in November – the earliest opportunity for state intervention.
Mr Sunak said: “We will look to do all we can to help people with energy bills in the autumn when we know more about what prices will be then. “We have been in a position to step in and help financially, both at home and now in Ukraine, with billions of pounds of support because we have made responsible but difficult decisions to stabilise the public finances.
“By getting borrowing down and reducing our deficit, we have given ourselves room to put money aside for future crises.
“And that responsible management of taxpayers’ money will only become more important in the coming months. As we saw with the Bank of England’s updated outlook last week, things will continue to be challenging economically. I am working with my Cabinet colleagues to find ways in which we can ease the burden for families and we will look at all options.”
One in four customers has seen their energy bill direct debit payments at least double – despite being on a price cap and in credit.
A poll by MoneySavingExpert. com found in some cases one third of customers have been hit by rises of 100 per cent or more.
That is despite regulator Ofgem letting suppliers increase prices by an average of 54 per cent at the start of April. MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis said: “That smells wrong to me.”