The government has announced unprecedented support to protect households and businesses from high energy prices. The Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme are supporting millions of households and businesses with rising energy costs and the government has stated that these schemes will continue to do so from now until April next year.
However, the government states 'that it would be irresponsible…to continue exposing the public finances to unlimited volatility in international gas prices'.
Consequently, a Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023. The aim is to design a new approach that will cost the taxpayer significantly less than planned whilst ensuring enough support for those in need. The government has also stated that any support for businesses will be targeted to those most affected and that the new approach will better incentivise energy efficiency.
However, this is not the end of the story. Government departments will be asked to find efficiencies within their budgets and the Chancellor is expected to announce further changes to fiscal policy on 31 October to put the public finances on a sustainable footing.