Millions of people could be given council tax rebates worth hundreds of pounds under plans to limit the impact of rising energy prices, The Times has reported.
According to media reports, the Prime Minister is set to meet with Rishi Sunak this week to discuss options to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
According to The Times, one of the plans considered is that homes in less expensive council tax bands A to C would receive ‘significant’ discounts on their bills.
One of the other options reportedly discussed has been a power market intervention where state would pay energy suppliers to shield consumers from high bills.
BBC reported earlier this month that Centrica and Ecotricity bosses have called on the government to scrap green levies on energy bills to help customers facing higher prices, urging green programmes to be funded through general taxation instead.
According to new research by the Resolution Foundation, the number of households suffering from ‘fuel stress’ – spending at least 10 per cent of their family budgets on energy bills – is set to treble overnight to 6.3 million households when the new energy price cap comes into effect on 1 April.
The price cap sets the maximum rate a supplier can charge annually on a dual fuel tariff in England, Scotland and Wales.
Earlier this month Boris Johnson rejected the idea of cutting VATs on energy bills. According to the Mirror, the Prime Minister later described this measure as “a blunt instrument” and is likely to settle on a mixture of measures to help consumers.
