Latest news with #fuelpoverty
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Energy Price Cap: Ofgem drops cap by £129 from July
Energy bills will fall by £129 in July, as Ofgem announced a drop to the energy price cap. The decrease means that a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales will now pay £1,720 on average for energy, down from £1,849under the current price cap. Energy regulator Ofgem changes the price cap for households every three months, largely based on the cost of energy on wholesale markets. It's worth noting that the cap does not set the maximum a household will pay for their energy but limits the amount providers can charge them per unit of gas or electricity, so those who use more energy will always pay more. While a saving is welcome news, average energy bills continue to be 10% higher (almost £150) than this time last year, and 65% (almost £700) above winter 2020/21 levels and a third higher (around £450) than pre-Ukraine invasion. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, says: 'The Government's u-turn on the Winter Fuel Payment is a clear sign it knows people are struggling with energy bills – but sticking-plaster solutions won't keep people warm next winter or the one after that. 'While bills may fall slightly in July, they're still significantly higher than before the energy crisis and remain tied to the unpredictable cost of fossil fuels. Without urgent reform and real investment, millions will continue to face unaffordable bills and cold homes. 'The Warm Homes Plan offers a long-term fix: lower bills, warmer homes, and greater energy security. But this essential plan is now under threat. If Ministers walk away from it, they are effectively condemning households to years more of hardship. 'Short-term relief must not be used as an excuse for long-term neglect. The Government must fully fund the Warm Homes Plan and deliver the reforms needed to bring down bills for good.' Before the announcement, consultancy BFY Group predicted that the cap would fall by approximately £1,715 – a £134 decrease from the current April cap. Matt Turner-Tait, Senior Manager at BFY Group, says: 'This shows a decrease of about £134 from the current level of £1,849, set in April. "This reflects recent declines in wholesale gas and electricity prices and will provide some short-term relief for households on standard variable tariffs. While energy prices typically dip in summer due to reduced demand, market signals indicate that prices could stay at current levels through the winter as well, challenging expectations of the usual seasonal rebound. "Adjustments to the amount suppliers are allowed to recover for operating costs could reduce bills by up to £15 per year, but these savings could be offset by the rising bad debt among suppliers and other pressures, such as volatile wholesale markets, the rising costs of decarbonisation, inflation-driven operational expenses and regulatory compliance. More energy customers have been switching to fixed tariffs, which are always cheaper than the Price Cap, and are currently significantly so - by around £250 to £300 for a typical customer. Matt says: "While the gap between fixed deals and the capped rate may narrow as the Price Cap falls, fixed tariffs are still expected to offer savings in the near term."
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Little-known Winter Fuel Payment loophole that means thousands CAN claim £300 despite not getting Pension Credit
HOUSEHOLDS should be aware of a little-known Winter Fuel Payment loophole that means thousands can claim £300 despite not getting Pension Credit. The benefit was previously available to everyone aged 66 but cuts made by Labour now mean only those on means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit get the help. 1 It spurred outrage from many charities and members of the public, with many scared it could tip vulnerable elderly people into fuel poverty. Sir Keir Starmer has now announced plans to ease cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance. Speaking yesterday the PM said ministers would change the threshold to allow "more pensioners" to qualify again. However, Starmer was sparse on details about who might get the benefit reinstated or when the changes might take place. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but if you are worried about rising energy bills this coming winter you should consider using this loophole. To qualify for the £300, you must have an active claim for one of these benefits during the qualifying week, which is from September 15 to 21. However, claims can be backdated by between one and three months, depending on the benefit you're applying through - so it's not to late to claim. You will be eligible for Pension Credit, you and your partner need to have both reached State Pension age. However, if you have a younger partner, you may be able to make a claim to receive the Winter Fuel Payment through Universal Credit. The benefit can top up your income by £227.10 a week if you're single and £346.60 a week if you have a partner. Scottish State Pensioners to Receive Winter Fuel Payment Boost in 2025 Pension Credit also opens the door to other support, including housing benefits, cost of living payments and council tax reductions. Claims for Pension Credit also open doors to a number of freebies and discounts. For example, Pension Credit claimants over 75 qualify for a free TV licence worth up to £169.50 a year. Claims for the benefit also provide eligibility to £25 a week cold weathe payments and the £150 warm home discount. How to check your eligibility? For those who are unsure if they can get access to the help, you can use the government's Pension Credit Calculator. This is available on the website and you have to put in your personal details to see if you qualify or not. Before you begin the process you will need details of your earnings, benefits, pensions, savings and investments. If you have a partner you must put in their details as well. Applications for pension credit can also be made by ringing the pension credit claim line on 0800 99 1234. You can get a friend or family member to ring for you, but you'll need to be with them when they do. You'll need the following information about you and your partner if you have one: National Insurance number Information about any income, savings and investments you have Information about your income, savings and investments on the date you want to backdate your application to (usually three months ago or the date you reached state pension age) If you claim after you reach pension age, you can backdate for up to three months. Are you missing out on benefits? YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get. Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit. and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data. You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs. Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Chancellor sidesteps calls to reverse cuts to winter fuel allowance and benefits
Rachel Reeves has sidestepped calls to help those in fuel and food poverty by reversing winter fuel allowance cuts and the two-child benefit cap. The Chancellor said she would 'never' make a policy commitment without being able to say where the money is coming from after claiming the Government has 'returned stability back' to the UK economy. Ms Reeves also said the Government had to take 'difficult decisions and urgent decisions' following last summer's election as she responded to MPs urging her to change course. Reports have suggested ministers could remove the two-child benefit cap or reconsider its decision to means-test the winter fuel payment for pensioners, as a means of placating rebellious Labour MPs. Ms Reeves told LBC that she is 'listening' to the concerns 'about the level at which the winter fuel payment is removed', which hinted at possible changes to the threshold. Speaking at Treasury questions, Independent MP Rosie Duffield (Canterbury) told the Commons: 'Westminster is once again buzzing with the latest U-turn speculation and briefings over the Chancellor's policies on the winter fuel allowance and the two-child limit benefits cap. 'It's less of a buzz for those visitors to Canterbury Food Bank, however, who last month distributed enough food to make 13,545 meals – a 47% rise on the same period last year. 'Will the Chancellor end the serious anxiety of those experiencing fuel and food poverty now and reverse those policies?' Ms Reeves replied to her former Labour colleague: 'The only reason that we've been able to grow the economy and get those cuts in interest rates, which helped working families in Canterbury and right across our country, is to have returned stability back to our economy and that means never making a policy commitment without being able to say where the money is coming from; that is what got our country into a mess under the previous government. 'So we've set out the policies that we needed to put investment into the NHS and to secure our public finances.' Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: 'Yesterday the Chancellor said that she understands the concerns that some people have about the limit at which the winter fuel payment is removed. 'In light of that, does the Chancellor now agree that restricting the eligibility so tightly was a mistake?' Ms Reeves replied: 'When I became Chancellor last year we inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances not at some year in the future but in the financial year that we were already three or four months into. 'It meant that we had to make difficult decisions and urgent decisions to put our public finances back on a firm footing because unlike the party opposite we will never play fast and loose with the public finances.' Labour MP Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) called for a wealth tax. He said: 'To alleviate grinding penury for millions the Chancellor could introduce an annual wealth tax on multimillionaires that would raise approximately £24 billion per annum – yet the Chancellor refuses to entertain this, but does consider cuts to welfare as acceptable. 'Why do 'tough political choices' always seem to impact those who are most vulnerable?' Ms Reeves replied: 'At the budget last year we increased the rate of tax on non-doms, we increased capital gains tax, we increased the carried interest on bonuses and we also introduced VAT on private schools. 'This Government is ensuring that wealthiest pay their fair share because that's a basic Labour principle.' Shadow chancellor Mel Stride pressed Ms Reeves on her future tax proposals, asking: 'Can the Chancellor explain what the economic secretary (Emma Reynolds) meant last week when she said that there will be 'no tax rises on individuals at the autumn budget', and can she similarly confirm that there will be no tax increases on businesses?' Ms Reeves replied: 'In our manifesto we set out that we would not increase taxes on working people – the income tax, national insurance or VAT that they pay – and it's why we also reversed the decision by the previous government to increase fuel duty, which would have had a disastrous effect on working people in our country. 'We will set out all other tax policy at the budget.' Elsewhere in the session, Ms Reeves said the Government believes the UK's new trade deal with the EU will bring down bills for consumers. Labour MP Graham Stringer (Blackley and Middleton South) said: 'The European emissions trading scheme has a carbon price 50% higher than the UK's price. 'What assessment has the Chancellor made of the impact of joining this scheme will have on inflation in this country?' Ms Reeves replied: 'Sometimes the UK carbon price has been higher, sometimes it's been lower than the carbon price in the EU. But what this deal will ensure is a bigger market which on average brings prices down. 'We're confident that the deal secured yesterday will bring more good jobs and will bring down bills for consumers.'
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Heat networks could warm Inverness homes in the future
Parts of Inverness have been identified as potential locations for large heating networks in the Council, along with Scotland's other local authorities, have been asked by the Scottish government to come up with strategies to improve energy efficiency. Heat networks involve distributing energy from a central source, often using underground pipes to carry hot water. Inverness' west bank of the River Ness, the city centre, Longman and Raigmore areas could have networks, according to a report to Highland Council's climate change committee. Properties would be warmed by one or more systems that extract heat from air, water or underground. Biomass, hydrogen and facilities that draw thermal energy from warm water households flush down drains could also be of the properties are currently heated by mains gas. The report to next week's committee meeting said the west bank had a "high level" of social housing and risk of fuel also contains buildings with high heating demands, including Highland Council's headquarters, Eden Court arts venue, Inverness Leisure swimming pool complex and the city's botanic of the buildings, Inverness Ice Centre, has been struggling with its energy officers said the area could benefit from a heating said an energy centre could potentially be built on council-owned land near Highland Rugby Club's of building the network could run to £37m. The officials said the city centre was one of the highest density areas in Inverness with more than 298 buildings. They shops, offices, hotels, Eastgate Shopping Centre and also Inverness' castle and town costs of creating that network could be an estimated £ is an industrial area and officers have suggested waste water heating and hydrogen systems could be have recommended a number of networks across the area, with costs potentially running to almost £ includes housing, Raigmore Hospital, Inverness Campus and new prison HMP the area could be broken up and covered by a number of heating networks with overall costs of more than £54m.
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
British Gas owner suffers shareholder rebellion over CEO pay packet
The owner of British Gas has suffered a shareholder rebellion after handing its chief executive a multi-million pound pay packet while energy bill payers struggle with record levels of debt. Nearly 40% of Centrica's shareholders voted against the board's pay plans at the energy company's annual investor meeting in Manchester on Thursday, after rising criticism of boss Chris O'Shea's pay during the energy crisis. O'Shea's basic salary rose 29% last year to £1.1m to take his total pay packet, including bonuses and share-related pay, to £4.3m for the year. The pay day was about half what he was paid the year before when his pay packet ballooned to around £8m, largely thanks to a £5.9m bonus scheme. The pay rises have angered consumer groups, fuel poverty campaigners and climate activists who have accused the company of profiting from higher energy prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine while millions of households have struggled to pay their heating bills because of soaring energy costs. In total household energy debt and arrears have climbed to around £3.8bn, an increase of around £2bn since the start of 2022. Centrica's market value has grown by over 250% in the last five years due to climbing energy market prices after the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, shares in the FTSE 100 company fell by 7.5% on Thursday after it warned that the mild start to spring would dent its profits for the first quarter. Ahead of the shareholder vote leading proxy adviser, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommended against supporting O'Shea's pay packet at the annual meeting. ISS told its clients the pay rise was 'materially above those given to the wider workforce' and 'not considered to be supported by cogent rationale'. Mel Evans, Greenpeace UK's head of climate, called on the government to cap pay rises and bonuses for energy companies so they are not 'rewarded for deepening the cost of living crisis'. 'You know the profiteering has gone too far when even the shareholders start rejecting the bumper pay rises put forward by greedy bosses,' Evans said. 'We're all sick to death of being unfairly ripped off by the gas industry, who have made eye-watering profits at the expense of ordinary billpayers in recent years.' O'Shea said last year that it was 'impossible to justify' his pay when British Gas customers were struggling. 'You can't justify a salary of that size,' he told the BBC. 'It's a huge amount of money; I am incredibly fortunate. I don't set my own pay; that's set by our remuneration committee.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion A spokesperson for Centrica said: 'While we welcome the backing of the majority of our shareholders for that resolution following extensive engagement on remuneration, we will continue to engage with shareholders in constructive and open dialogue. 'The company will provide an update to shareholders within six months of today's meeting.' Separately, Tesco's annual report revealed that the pay of its chief executive Ken Murphy fell by about £1m to £9.23m – still 373 times that of the average employee at the supermarket group – after he missed targets on his bonus-related sales and profits as well as food waste. The retailer was forced to revise down its success in tackling food waste after a problem with a partner – which it emerged was turning the waste into energy rather than feeding it to animals as agreed. This year Murphy could earn more than £10m if he hits all his targets as his basic salary has been increased by 2% to almost £1.5m.
