The Treasury is considering raising the energy price ‘cap’ next year, it has been reported.
Government sources said discussions are underway within the department about what level of support will be available from April, when the current price guarantee expires, according to the Guardian.
In one of his first acts as Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt cancelled plans to keep the guarantee, which caps ‘typical’ bills at £2,500, for two years.
No decisions are said to have been made, but raising the cap while adding support for vulnerable people is “one of the options”, according to one source who spoke to the newspaper.
Mr Hunt does not have to announce what support will be available from April until next spring.
But he will be under pressure to provide some certainty to families in next week’s Autumn Statement.
The mini-budget will be announced at 11.30am on November 17.
It is set to confirm about £21bn of tax rises and £33bn of public spending cuts by 2027/28 - despite services creaking under a decade of austerity.
State pension and benefits are now expected to rise with 10.1% inflation - but council tax and income tax could be hiked.
It'll add new pain for families after the Bank of England raised the base rate of interest to 3%, hiking the cost of mortgages.
The Bank warned the UK was heading into the longest recession in 100 years.
Weeks after Liz Truss ’s disastrous tax cuts bid, a Treasury source said: “It is going to be rough.
“The truth is that everybody will need to contribute more in tax if we are to maintain public services.”
