wrong and dishonest. but what we can do is take the sting out of a significant price shock for millions of families by making sure the increase in prices is smaller initially and spread over a longer period. a rise of nearly £700 in average annual energy bills is a massive hit to household incomes. the chancellor wants to try to soften it in two ways. first, in april, homes in council tax bands a to d, that s over 80% of households, will get a £150 rebate funded by central government. and then, in october, £200 will be knocked off everyone s bills, but that money will have to be repaid £40 a year for the next five years. now, the hope is that, by then, the sky high gas prices which have created this crisis may have fallen. but even the person who sets the price cap says that is far from certain. the head of 0fgem told the bbc there was no reason to think high
energy costs in october. but it will have to be paid back through their bills later. most households in england will also get a discount of £150 in april. it will be available for homes in council tax bands a to d and won t need to be repaid. but critics say the government hasn t done enough. they describe the oil and gas companies one of the cabinet ministers as struggling. i m afraid that shows how out of touch they are with the real struggles that are taking place in our country, which is families. leave aside the politics of this, ijust think of the families today, with their heads in their hands, saying how are we going to cope? labour has called for a windfall tax on the profits of big energy companies to help bring down bills and address what it calls our broken energy system. theo leggett, bbc news. laura robinson is a foodbank worker. shejoins me from south hetton in county durham.
so we have had a look at that and we have started to kind of use that. for many families like the masters, worse is to come. energy prices for consumers are capped by the regulator 0fgem. but the cap is going up to reflect a big rise in the price suppliers have to pay for the energy they sell to us. 0fgem says some 22 million households will pay more. it is unavoidable in the short term that prices were going to go up. the government will provide £200 towards each household s energy costs in october. but it will have to be paid back through bills later. most households in england will also get a discount of £150 in april. it will be available for homes in council tax bands a to d and won t need to be repaid.
0fgem says some 22 million households will pay more. we saw an extraordinary increase in prices last year and that was driven by the global gas so it is unavoidable in the short term that prices were going to go up. the government is trying to soften the blow. it will provide £200 towards each household s energy costs in october. but it will have to be paid back through bills later on. most households in england will also get a discount of £150 in april. it will be available for homes in council tax bands a to d and won t need to be repaid. critics say these measures do not go far enough to help vulnerable people at a time when the cost of living is already rising rapidly and household finances are under pressure. but the energy minister said £141; million was available to local
i know people are worried about the cost of living and in particular about rising energy bills, and that s why we re taking direct action with an energy bills rebate, which will provide the majority of families with £350 of financial support to help them adjust to those higher prices. the government will provide £200 towards each household s energy costs in october. but it will have to be paid back through their bills later. most households in england will also get a discount of £150 in april. it will be available for homes in council tax bands a to d and won t need to be repaid. but critics say the government hasn t done enough. for people on the most modest incomes, families and pensioners, just £350 off their bills against a £700 increase. where are people going to find the money from? labour has called for a windfall tax on the profits of big energy