Hunt's scaling back energy cost help already!

Not good for any of us but Hunt has to regain credibility with the markets, credibility lost by Truss and Kwarteng. I hope the Tory MPs have the bottle to get rid of her now.

I thought it was always only intended to be until April. £400 spread over 6 months.

Yes, the financial payment of £400 was only until next April anyway, but Truss’s energy support package said that the price cap wouldn’t increase for two years. My understanding is that this is what will be reviewed in April … cost per KWh will go up, perhaps with financial help for those on benefits.

Truss is teflon as far as I can see... I'd be surprised if she resigns voluntarily... unfortunately

I thought that too Blossoming also, what is an 'average household' biglouise? Depending on the size of a family for example, cut backs could be being made but their consumption may still take them above the average. It doesn't necessarily follow that they can cut back any more or be able to afford steep incremental charges.

Mamie

I think Liz Truss answered pretty much every question with "Labour would only guarantee energy price cuts for six months we will do it for two years" at PMQs last week.
Oh dear.

Yes, she was very sneering about Labour's six months.

annsixty

I feel so sorry for her children.
They face a very public humiliation of their mother.
It will be dreadful for them.
We all know what teenagers are like for “rubbing it in”.

Thankfully, I don't think her children have been in the public domain - I don't even know how old they are.

I've received a letter today from the DWP to inform me that my Winter Fuel Payment this year would be £600. However, further on in the text, it states that :
"Your £600 also includes extra money from the Government to help with the cost of living. This extra money is known as a'Pensioner Cost of Living Payment' and it will only be paid for winter 2022."
So...whereas the heading tells me that my 2022 winter fuel payment will be £600, this is contradicted by the later statement about the inclusion of the 'cost of living payment'.
Clear as mud!

I don’t listen to any energy cost discussions that talk about ‘average or typical households’ - it’s meaningless. What matters is your household usage and the price per KWh for gas and electricity, set by Ofgem’s price cap, and charged by your energy provider. I think the cost per KWh will now increase for everyone in April but the government will give a package of financial help just to those on benefits. In this way, they’ll be seen to be helping the most vulnerable whilst leaving everyone else to their own devices - which is what they really like to do! Those not on benefits will either have to cut down even further (how!!!), freeze or pay up! Difficult times ahead!

I was never confused Ad - it was always the same WFP of £200 or £300 (depending on age) and a one-off top up of £300.
Personally, I don’t give a flying fig what they call it, as long as we get it.

annsixty

I feel so sorry for her children.
They face a very public humiliation of their mother.
It will be dreadful for them.
We all know what teenagers are like for “rubbing it in”.

Don't you think they are used to it? They already had a list of all her infidelities. It's her poor husband I feel sorry for imagining the frustrated tantrums that must be going on when she gets home.
Jeremy Hunt had the demeanour of a good orator and looked the part. Did he come up with the ideas though? Thinking back to when he was Health Secretary there were a lot of stand-offs with junior doctors and he never got the NHS sorted out/if it ever can be.

Oldnproud

I don't have a problem with it per se. I agree that April is a good time to at least review the situation, and to target help. What Hunt is proposing is what should have been offered originally.

However, I do have an issue with such a sudden about-turn, because there will be people who have already made or delayed financial decisions based on the timescale of the help that had already been promised.

The blame still lies squarely with Truss and Kwarteng though. They've left quite a mess to be dealt with!
(Silly me, I momentarily forgot that Truss is still Prime Minister - though probably in name only, and hopefully not even that for much longer.)

I agree with this.

People need to be able to plan, and to make decisions without worrying that the rug will be pulled from under them. Social cohesiveness is based on trust, and the feeling that people have some control over their lives and are not living at the whim of others.

For similar reasons I prefer bilouis' approach (tiering the cost of usage) to one which is based on a crude means-test. For one thing, it may conserve some resources and make the threatened power cuts less likely, and for another it won't penalise people with little who have managed to save a few pounds by doing without.

I wish they would do something about the standing charge, as people have no control over that, and even if they don't put the heating on they have to pay it - how can people cut back with that hanging over them.

People who are housebound, disabled and/or using essential medical equipment at home will be known to their GP. Individuals in these groups could therefore be identified in a similar way to when their names were supplied for the NHS for the adminstration of vaccines by home visit during the pandemic. The rest can go on a tiered scale whereby if you use more you pay the excess at market rates. That would be a great incentive for others to cut down on inessential/luxury usage.

Yes, that would be a sensible approach.

Hunt sounds like he always does - but that doesn’t mean we can rely on him to do the best thing for the country. He trashed the NHS, and was fully supportive of the first round of austerity and he appears to be suggesting that is the road he will be going down going forward.

It doesn’t work. It didn’t produce growth last time, and it won’t now

Hunt is a dangerous man, just because his mild mannered style of presentation disguises his right wing politics.

If in doubt ask anyone who worked in the NHS when Hunt was Health Secretary.

biglouis

People who are housebound, disabled and/or using essential medical equipment at home will be known to their GP. Individuals in these groups could therefore be identified in a similar way to when their names were supplied for the NHS for the adminstration of vaccines by home visit during the pandemic. The rest can go on a tiered scale whereby if you use more you pay the excess at market rates. That would be a great incentive for others to cut down on inessential/luxury usage.

I've often thought that something similar should be applied to water usage.
A "reasonable" usage per household (which, if it was to be fair, would have to take into account the number of people per household and not rely on ratable value of a property) should be priced at a very reasonable rate, but excess usage above that should be charged at a higher rate. And as you point out with regard to energy, those with a serious medical need that necessitates higher than average usage should be identifiable via GP records and an extra allowance at standard charge applied.

If in doubt ask anyone who worked in the NHS when Hunt was Health Secretary.

Sweeping statement varian - presumably you know them all personally?

kittylester

^If in doubt ask anyone who worked in the NHS when Hunt was Health Secretary.^

Sweeping statement varian - presumably you know them all personally?

Well, we know for a fact that he ignored the findings of Operation Cygnus…

kittylester

^If in doubt ask anyone who worked in the NHS when Hunt was Health Secretary.^

Sweeping statement varian - presumably you know them all personally?

I think Varian is right though. Hunt was absolutely dreadful as Health Secretary, and we can lay the unpreparedness of the NHS for a pandemic entirely at his door.

Agree in principle with biglouis re charging extra for excessive usage but could be v costly to administer.

Hunt is silver-tongued, which I dislike. I thought before that he was just left holding a hot potato over the NHS and made allowances, but now I don't trust him. All those hollow 2010 expressions coming back - 'difficult decisions', 'efficiency savings' aka cuts, 'nothing off the table' (ex bankers' bonuses) - chill me to the bone.

I agree that he is an iron fist in a velvet glove. I think that all we can do is grin and bear it in the hope of a vote of no confidence and a GE.

The DWP is already sending out payments direct to bank accounts for pensioners and those on disability awards. Payments could be made in the same way. It would not be wise to leave this to the power companies to administer because that would involve giving sensitive personal/medical information to other bodies. DWP already has the relevent information. So it should not be more costly to administer than the present round of payments which are already in process. Although it would probably be a "blunt instrument" it is better targeted than supporting everyone which includes corrupt millionaire MPs.

MawtheMerrier

I may be flamed for this, but Hunt’s address today was the first time in weeks I have felt anybody in the Conservative government had the slightest scooby about what they were talking about!
He projects well - let’s hope he can put his money (oops our money) where his mouth is.

I agree, and it is a relief to hear that somebody has a grip on this matter.
Politics are even more volatile than usual just lately.

I agree that Hunt does speak well and is much more moderate in his views. It is also obvious that he is listening to advice. He has been talking to Andrew Bailey and probably to experienced Treasury (and ex-treasury) officials.

I think the Conservative party will do everything that it can to avoid an early election, so if we have another two years of Tory govt I'm relieved to see Hunt at the helm. At least he's a one Nation Tory with experience of govt and I believe he did what was necessary to settle the "markets", another week or two of Trussonomics would have seen interest rates continue to rise. This would have affected the most vulnerable in our society even more than they are already.