I am encouraged that the Government is making progress to reduce the rate of inflation, easing pressures on households, as it delivers £3,300 worth of cost of living support per household. 

Under the Energy Bills Support Scheme, millions of households received £400 off their energy bills over the winter.

In addition, the Energy Price Guarantee currently set at £3000, limits the amount you can be charged per unit of gas or electricity. While energy prices are currently below the level at which EPG payments would be made, the current price guarantee will support households between now and April 2024, ensuring that households are supported through the rest of the year, and protecting households from price spikes, putting in place a safety net for households up and down the country.

Households who use alternative fuel as their main form of heating, rather than traditional forms, received the Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP). The scheme delivered £200 to around two million households who use alternative fuels such as biomass, liquefied petroleum gas or heating oil.

Unlike households who use electricity or traditional gas for their heating, the EPG does not cover homes that are dependent on alternative fuels to heat their homes. Similarly, alternative fuels, such as heating oil, do not have a price cap. Therefore, the AFP scheme ensured that a typical customer using heating oil did not face a higher rate of growth in their heating costs since last winter.