People earning 45K plus to receive Energy help

It's the huge standing charge even if you use no energy that riles me.

I agree that nobody should have to pay for hot food and warmth just to line the pockets of the rich.

Our combined standing charge for gas and electricity is 77p a day which I think is ridiculous, is anyone's any higher?

Ours is 68.31p a day Smileless fixed until next June. I thought that was high but it seems not.

This government ar
is leaving people in a state of fear or uncertainty by waiting till the new PM is in place. For many this will cause unnecessary stress.
We won't know for at least another week what if anything will be done.

Meanwhile many have turned off their heating systems already.

Well it is high Pittcity not just as high as ours.

My standing charges total 71.75 per day to be reviewed 13 September

I think the government should be tackling the Energy companies with regard to profit margins it is ridiculous that they are getting rich on the back of this, also Ofgem have proved themselves useless how can you raise the price cap, I thought they were there to look after the people not the companies.
Everyone lives to their income no matter what that may be.

Shame transmission fees aren't the same Callistemon currently English and Welsh companies adding to the grid pay @ 49 PENCE per MWH ..Scotland pays almost £8 for the same MWH to be added .The highest transmission fees in Europe ! of course as we are by far the most successful producer of Renewable energy ,sending billions of £ worth SOUTH every year they have to milk us for the cash as well as the FREE energy .
Such a union of equals !!
Information from the NATIONAL GRID website

HousePlantQueen

Do you know what makes my blood boil Kazzerb? Your post, which is ignorant ill informed. Perhaps you would like to explain to the rest of us just how we can be warm, cosy and well fed in 4* hotels?

A veiled reference to illegal immigrants perhaps?????

however, another guest presenter reminded caller that the tax of the 45K earner goes towards the caller's UC..

It doesn't.

Nobody's tax pays for anything. It's a myth that the greater part of the population has swallowed and which enables the tories to cut public services and benefits to the bone...

45k is not that great a salary these days ....it doesn't go far

I am retired and my income last year from two work pensions was £16000 - will increase to £23500 after October when I get my SP. But my investments lost £5000 between July 2021 and July 2022 so net income was £18500. I do not have a mortgage, pay rent or have any other debts.

If there was support for people on low incomes then I think I would be included. However, I have decent investments and the ability to draw down on another pension scheme when my investments have been spent. I do not consider myself in need as I can cover the increases by dipping into my savings - exactly the reason I have them!

So any scheme based purely on income is going to have anomalies with people being helped who really don’t need it. I know my financial matters are slightly unusual in that I did not decide to take out an annuity from this private pension fund, I trust myself to use the money widely to fund my retirement and any care needs I might have.

Having said this, there is a need for some more support for many people, it is upsetting to read of families considering not heating their homes this winter and cutting back on food for their children. Mumsnet has several posts, as we do here, on tips to save money on energy bills.

Apologies with my sums, I meant to say my net income was £11,000 last year but would have been £18,500 had I also been getting my SP ie next winter.

It’s very hard, I think all, apart from the top 10% of earners will be hit by massive cost of living costs. I think what people forget is that those on low incomes or benefits, whilst it is a huge struggle, often have much lower costs than higher earners, £45,000 doesn’t go that far if you have a huge mortgage and costs associated with working

Agree 100% with Houseplant !

The comment about being warm & Cody in 4* hotels is ignorant, inflammatory and incorrect !!

As others have stated £45K seems a lot. But realistically, a couple earning that are possibly only earning £22500 each. Not poor, but not high wages by nowadays standards. My son and wife earn more than that, but one has high travel costs. They need 2 cars. Have an average mortgage. No childcare costs yet, but am sure that will come. Trouble is it costs so much to means test everyone.

If the money were to ber paid in the same way as the winter fuel payment it would be taxable in any case, so those paying higher rate tax will lose more of it. Those living on benefits of various kinds are unlikely to be paying tax so will keep it all, those paying "normal" rate tax will keep more.

I think it depends on where you live and how large your family is , in some parts of the country 45,000 is not a huge amount for a family of 4 to live on

Generally those earning more than £45k are paying mortgages, have young families and pay hefty amounts of tax and NI ( my adult children being a part of that group). They do not have credit cards, or goods on instalments, they should not have to pay extortionate high energy bills while those who are receiving UC and benefits paid from the taxes they are paying, they should be given the same help and consideration as others.
Personally I think the government should have stepped in a long while back and insisted on an energy price freeze, in theory none of us can “afford” these prices, rich or poor.

Casdon

I would far rather the same financial assistance is offered to every household regardless of income because any other system will be imperfect and some people will fall through the net, and it will require armies of staff to administer to ensue it goes to the right people. The worst possible solution seems to be what Liz Truss is suggesting, to cut VAT by 5%, because essential items aren’t subject to VAT anyway, so the poorest households wouldn’t benefit at all.

Yes, I agree with what you say, cutting VAT would not really help those on benefits or lower incomes as many essentials are VAT free.
And means testing has long been condidered not be be cost effective, hence why the winter fuel payment is paid to all those who could be eligible but also taxable for those with higher incomes.

I wish my annual income was £45k instead of state and work pensions totalling £14.5k.

JaneJudge

for a normal 3 bed semi here with a small garden it is 1.5k in rent and @ 400 pm in council tax so that is £1.9k accounted for out of your £2.8k monthly wage already. If you have 2 children and your partner only works part time because of child care issues, it is surely simple economics to think people may struggle to meet bills for energy, transport to work and food costs. Not sure why anything about this has to do with credit cards and excessive copulation.

Yes I agree, my daughter has always been single and has two adopted children, hence though she may earn £45k p.a. (though I would not ask!) she does have a household to support single handed. I suppose life may be a little easier for those who have partners, but at the moment child care costs are so high that some people could not hope to earn enough to make working "worthwhile", particularly before children are at secondary school.

Neither Truss not Sunak seem to be considering anything other than paying the suppliers huge sums of money that will be passed onto shareholders. Why is this the right way to do it?

If there were a genuine cap on bills - so that households are not paying large sums to line others' pockets - the shareholders would get lower dividends, but isn't that a risk that investors take? Even people with small amounts in S&S ISAs are warned that 'your capital may be at risk' and expected to take the hit if their savings go down in value.

I doubt this is what people expected when the 'Tell Sid' ads were making the sell-off of a service we all owned seem friendly and benign.

I think all should be entitled to assistance. 45K less tax, ins, pens contributions all have to be deducted. Everyones circunstances are different, a wage level tells nothing about peoples outgoings and needs (not wants, needs).

I think we are all being gaslit. Mounting and justifiable hysteria about energy costs, no government response. Suddenly they will announce a freeze at current rates and everyone will be so relieved that they will forget we are already paying in the region of £1 - 1.5k more than we were at this time last year.