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the typical household bill will rise by almost £700 a year after the energy regulator 0fgem increased its price cap in england, scotland and wales by 54%. that means typical households will end up paying about £2,000 a year for their gas and electricity. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has announced a package of measures to take the sting out of the rise, with a £200 discount on bills, and a council tax rebate for some households. labour says vat on energy bills should be scrapped to help people cope. meanwhile, the bank of england has raised interest rates again to 0.5%. our first report is from our consumer affairs correspondent coletta smith. the energy price cap is going up again to nearly £2000 per yearfrom april. for donna, with three children and no increase in her income, it feels impossible. the thought that we have got to find that money is going to stress
they want to buy another one, but the cost of the mortgages they are being offered keeps rising. meanwhile, they are living in a smaller house than before but her monthly energy bills have more than doubled. her household finances, like many of us, are being clobbered by bills she has no choice but to pay. we are looking at a rise in our energy bills, fuel bills and mortgage repayments which altogether will contribute to probably £300 a month more in our monthly bills, particularly at the moment we are trying to buy a house and the rise in mortgage rates have had a big impact on what we can afford. today, naomi and others have the bank of england to thank for turning up the heat even further by making new variable rates more expensive. the committee narrowly voted five in favour and four against to double the official interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%.
this is bbc news. the headlines: the soaring cost of energy: typical household bills are going up by almost £700 a year. the chancellor unveils measures to soften the blow, including a £200 discount on bills. 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. this energy crisis has not happened overnight. it s a decade of dither and delay from the party opposite that has brought us to this point. the bank of england raises interest rates again to 0.5%. amid a new row over post brexit trade arrangements in northern ireland,