By Rishi Sunak: It would be ‘silly’ to give people more support now
The Chancellor said more support would be available in the autumn when bills are reportedly set to soar again.
According to reports, Chancellor Rishi Sunak says it would be ‘silly’ to provide more help for families struggling now to pay their energy bills.
This comes after a 54% hike in the cost of gas and electricity and the cost of living continues to soar.
Mr. Sunak outlined that help from the Government would not be effective now, with help ‘coming’ after October, when bills are set to rise again.
The Chancellor made the remarks during a Q&A session with the online forum Mumsnet.
The support provided so far has included a £150 Council Tax rebate for some, a loan of £300 that is due in October- but it will be repayable.
When asked about more support, Mr. Sunak said: “Now I know people are anxious about this and wondering if they are going to go up even more, and I have always been clear from the beginning we will see what happens.
“It would be silly to do that now or last month or the month before when we don’t know exactly what the situation in the autumn will be.
“So I’d say we’ll see where we are with that if we need to do more.”
Boris Johnson will chair a committee to tackle the cost of living crisis “in the next couple of weeks”.
Downing Street has announced the PM chairing the committee to ease the cost of living crisis.
The membership of the Domestic and Economic Strategy Committee includes the PM, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson confirmed ministers discussed “several ideas” to ease the pressure on household finances.
On Tuesday morning, the PM chaired a Cabinet meeting to discuss “innovative” ways to combat the crisis.
