Fuel help thinking
- 4 Sep 08, 07:12 PM
Hopes that ministers might be about to give consumers one-off payments to help with their fuel bills are at an end.
The government had planned to unveil a a package of help for consumers faced by soaring gas and electricity bills this week but they are still locked in difficult negotiations with energy companies.
Whitehall sources are making it clear, however, that the focus of the talks is now not on cash help but, instead, on extending energy efficiency measures and the offer of lower tariffs to poorer people.
Expectations that ministers were hoping to unveil a significant package of help with fuel bills including payments of between £50 and £100 a head followed reports of a conversation involving the most senior civil servant at the Business Department which is leading negotiations with the energy companies.
BERR's Permanent Secretary Sir Brian Bender was overheard by other passengers on a train discussing a plan to help "ordinary people" by creating "a fuel rebate for everybody on child benefit".
At the time Number 10 confirmed that discussions were ongoing but said that no decisions had been reached.
Last week the Business Secretary John Hutton declared that "the era of cheap energy is over".
He and other ministers are likely to defend their plan to promote energy efficiency by arguing that it will help reduce bills not just this year but in years to come. One source claimed that consumers would be "better off" than they would have been if they'd been given cash help.
However, those Labour MPs and activists who have argued for a windfall tax on the energy companies are likely to regard this outcome as a significant disappointment.
Tonight the Prime Minister is delivering an important and interesting speech to the Scottish CBI in Glasgow. He will promise not to let down families who are struggling and express his confidence that Britain can make it through challenging economic times.
The question after Charles Clarke's invitation to the PM to buck up or step down will be - is it enough?
