Fuel, energy and living costs The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) stated that due to rising prices and taxes, living standards are not likely to recover to the pre-pandemic level until 2024-25 and living standards are expected to drop by 2.2% this year.
The OBR have also warned if wholesale gas prices remain at the current level, our energy bills are likely to rise by 40% again in October to take the typical household to £2,801 a year.
Ofgem (the UK’s energy regulator) has already said bills will increase by 54% to £1,971 for a typical household from April.
However, to help:
- Fuel duty will be cut by 5p per litre until March 2023
- Homeowners installing energy efficiency devices such as solar panels, heat pumps or insulation will pay 0% VAT for five years
- Local authorities will receive £500m for the Household Support Fund from April to help vulnerable households with rising living costs