Nearly six million people across the UK are currently claiming Universal Credit with a further estimated five million households receiving additional financial support through Working Tax Credits.
02.02.2022 - 21:43 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Every household in the UK is set to be given £200, according to reports.
Millions of people have been struggling to pay their energy bills, and Money Saving Experts like Martin Lewis have warned about the rising number of people being forced to choose between 'heating or eating'.
The payments have been planned to help offset the rising price of energy, but there's a catch.
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Instead of a grant, the cash would be a sort of loan. The money would help with the immediate problem of high energy bills, but the government wants homes to repay it over time.
The scheme would see £6billion of taxpayer cash handed to energy firms, which would be used to lower energy bills for each household.
However, this cash would be paid back by consumers over the following years in the form of slightly higher bills.
They are rising for several reasons.
Much of the increase reflects the soaring cost of gas, not electricity.
Reasons behind this rise include supply and demand, as there was a very cold winter in Europe last year.
British homes are heavily reliant on gas, making the problem worse.
Most homes (86.3%) have gas central heating, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this week.
The cost of most energy bills is capped by the energy regulator, Ofgem.
This cap limits the amount firms can charge the average customer on their default gas and electricity tariffs - usually variable-rate deals.
This cap is currently £1,277 a year for those on default tariffs and £1,309 for those on pre-payment deals.
It is technically a cap on how much energy firms can ask you to pay for rates.
The price cap is being reviewed next week for England, Scotland and Wales -
Nearly six million people across the UK are currently claiming Universal Credit with a further estimated five million households receiving additional financial support through Working Tax Credits.
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