The Conservative MP for the High Peak writes about measures taken by the Government to help households and businesses with their energy bills.

Since January, I have been calling on the Government to take action to help people and businesses cope with rising energy bills through this winter and buy us time to scale up our own energy production (both renewable and nuclear) to ensure our long-term energy security. 

With this in mind, I am very pleased that the new Prime Minister acted within 48 hours of taking office to provide families and businesses certainty on their energy bills.

The Government has announced a new Energy Price Guarantee to limit the price suppliers can charge consumers for the next two years.

From 1 October, this means that household bills will be kept down to around £2,500 per year on average. In real terms, this means that those living in a typical house will save £1,000 per year on their energy bills. This is on top of the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme for every home, and the £1,200 of support for the most vulnerable households already announced earlier this year.  

Crucially, energy prices for businesses will also be capped for six months. After those six months, the Government have committed to providing further support for vulnerable sectors, such as hospitality, which is really important for our local pubs and local tourism industry. 

In addition, a discretionary fund will be made available to help those living in park homes or who use domestic heating oil. 

The Government has also announced a cut in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% from next April. 31 million taxpayers will benefit from this tax cut, with someone on an average salary saving £170 per year. 

This comes on top of the significant increase to the National Living Wage and the triple-lock which will ensure pensioners also see a substantial increase in what they receive.

As I’ve written about before, a large part of the rise in the cost of living is due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. We need to approach this energy crisis as if we were on a war-footing and use extraordinary emergency measures to protect people. 

We also need to take action to ensure that we are never in this position again. That means ending decades of short-term thinking which has left Western Europe dependent on fossil fuels controlled by dictatorships. That means rapid investment in both renewable energy and nuclear power.

I know that this is a deeply worrying time for many High Peak residents. I will continue to make the case for short-term support and long-term strategic thinking.

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