This week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £15bn package of support to tackle rising energy bills and the cost of living crisis. The measures included a £400 discount on energy bills for all households, £650 for those on the lowest incomes (supported through the welfare system) and the Local Authority Household Support Fund was increased by £500m. Here LABM shares opinion from across the sector to the Chancellor’s Statement.
The measures must be accompanied by a longer-term solution
Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Extra support to mitigate the impact of rising energy bills and funding for those on the lowest incomes, who are disproportionately affected by price rises, will help ease the pressure on household budgets this year. It is good that this support is going through the mainstream benefits system, enabling councils to focus on targeting their help towards those facing the greatest need.
“We are pleased the Chancellor has acted on calls by the LGA, councils and partners to increase and extend the Household Support Fund to the end of this financial year.
“These measures must be accompanied by a longer-term solution to addressing wider cost of living pressures, which are not going to end any time soon, and reducing the need for further emergency support.
“Councils and local partners will continue to do what they can to protect those on the lowest incomes against higher costs for food, transport and other essentials and target help to those facing the most complex challenges. To reduce the need for short-term crisis support, there needs to be a consensus on how we move forward and build resilience through our wider welfare system, which includes not just benefits but employment support, housing, health and financial inclusion.”
UK100 welcomes oil and gas windfall tax u-turn but urges long-term support to lower energy bills
Responding to the news that the UK Government has u-turned on its refusal to impose a windfall tax on oil and gas firms, Polly Billington, Chief Executive of UK100, said: “Struggling families desperately need support as the energy price crisis continues to bite, especially with the news that prices will rise again in the autumn. And communities up and down the country overwhelmingly support a windfall tax on excessive fossil fuel profits. Commentators can be too quick to criticise u-turns, but we should welcome leaders who can make the right decision — no matter how they get there.”
UK100 is the UK’s only network of local authorities, representing almost 40 million people, committed to reaching Net Zero as soon as possible, but no later than 2045 — five years ahead of the national target.
At the flagship UK100 local Net Zero conference last summer, local leaders and metro mayors from across the UK came together to call on the Government to implement a long term plan to support local authorities to decarbonise homes across the country.
Polly added: “But, this one-off tax is a sticking plaster. Prices will rise again in the autumn, and, by all accounts, high gas prices will be with us for years, not months. To avoid throwing good money after bad, the Government needs to support people to lower their bills in the long-term. That means doubling down on renewable energy ambitions and being open to changing its mind on onshore wind. It also means boosting support for a nationwide, locally-led programme to upgrade our draughty homes while accelerating the transition from expensive gas boilers to clean heating. Not only will this help bring down household energy bills, but it will also drive progress toward our Net Zero targets.”
“The cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use.”
More government support needed for energy efficiency and domestic retrofit
Gavin Smart, Chief Executive of Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “We’re pleased to see Government stepping in to provide much needed support at this unprecedented time. CIH, along with others, has been calling for this vital financial intervention for some time.
“The (mainly) targeted support for the most vulnerable via the benefits system is most welcome and confirmation that next year’s benefits will be uprated in line with September inflation is a positive step. However, if energy prices continue to rise, further support will be needed, which must come through adequate social security support.
“Some of the most vulnerable families on low incomes are struggling now because of the successive failure to uprate benefits in line with the cost of living fully. Our analysis shows that everyone who gets support — both in and out of work (tax credits) — is receiving at least £400 a year less in real terms than in 2012 (even less if a couple or family). The Government needs to increase the benefit cap to ensure that the support given through this package is not simultaneously removed.
“One area where we would still like to see more government support is energy efficiency, which has no mention in the announcement. With 20% of UK carbon emissions linked to the residential sector, this energy crisis is a reminder of the need to move to net zero carbon as fast as possible, retrofitting homes so that they are no longer leaking energy. We will continue working with the Government and our members on this important agenda.”
Large-scale home upgrade needed to improve energy efficiency of existing properties
UKGBC’s Chief Executive Officer, Julie Hirigoyen commented: “The payments announced will help households in fuel poverty, which at this moment of crisis is welcome. But it will do nothing to stop the annual loss of £500 from heat leaking out of every window, wall and roof of their poorly insulated homes. The longer the Government puts off the real solution, implementing a large-scale home upgrade drive to make homes more energy-efficient, the longer desperate households will suffer in the cost of living crisis. As things stand there is no end in sight to rising energy bills, and no prospect of meeting the UK’s climate commitments.”
