John Healey's £100 handout for families to help cover heating bills this winter will pour more money into Labour-supporting areas of the North and Midlands, figures suggest.
asserted
figures → help → North
The Chancellor yesterday used the Budget to announce people living in houses in council tax bands A, B, C and D will get the money automatically put into their bank accounts to help with the cost of living.
asserted
money → use → living
The payment will be made in January at a cost of £2.6billion to taxpayers.
asserted
payment → make → taxpayers
Typical annual energy bills are expected to reach £1,750 after Government support in 2026-27.
asserted
bills → expect → 2026
That compares with £1,685 paid during the 2022-23 energy price jump after Russia invaded Ukraine.
asserted
Russia → compare → Ukraine
Analysis of council tax band data by the Mail suggests that while around nine-in-ten homes in the North East, North West and Yorkshire are eligible for the payment, that falls to 71 per cent in the South East and 69 per cent in London.
uncertain
that → suggest → London
Local authority-level data shows that in some areas almost all homes will be eligible, including Stoke-on-Trent (97.65 per cent), Sandwell (97.33 per cent), Nottingham (96.86 per cent), Hyndburn (96.46 per cent) and Boston (96.22 per cent).
But in parts of the South East the proportion is below 50 per cent, including in Elmbridge (41.12 per cent) and Mole Valley (43.7 per cent) and Tandridge (46.3 per cent) in Surrey, St Albans (49.01 per cent) in Hertfordshire and Windsor and Maidenhead (49.77 per cent) in Berkshire.
asserted
proportion → show → Berkshire
Find out the proportion of homes in your local area that will be eligible for the payment using the map below.
asserted
that → find → map
Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the payment as 'real help' when people 'need it most' today amid criticism it will barely dent soaring bills
Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the payment as 'real help' when people 'need it most' today amid criticism it will barely dent soaring bills.
Campaigners and think tanks have described it as badly targeted and too small to protect households from the energy costs rise predicted for January.
asserted
Campaigners → defend → January
The Left-leaning Resolution Foundation think-tank said it was 'a terribly, badly targeted kind of support' as there 'are lots of people who are doing OK who probably can manage without that money, and probably need to manage without that money if we're going to support the people we need to support at a time when we don't have a lot of money to throw around in the first place'.
asserted
we → lean → place
But the Prime Minister defended the decision to extend the support to 'the vast majority' of Britons.
asserted
Minister → defend → Britons
Asked about the criticism of the measure during a Thursday visit to a Rolls-Royce factory in Derby, Mr Burnham said: 'We're very focused on giving families as much breathing space as we possibly can.
uncertain
we → ask → space
'Often with a budget, people would have come home from work and said, 'Well, this doesn't help me.
asserted
this → come → me
'Well, if you're going to give that support to people in council tax bands A to D, that gets to the vast majority of the country.
asserted
that → go → country
It is help, real help that will land in people's bank accounts in January.'
asserted
that → land → January
He also said ministers were 'constantly' working to ease the cost of living as he pointed to a string of other announcements.
asserted
he → say → announcements
He said: 'We're doing more beyond that.
asserted
We → say → that
We've taken VAT off electricity bills, which will help people; £2 cap on bus fares next year and we're going to take standing charges off gas bills.
'
asserted
we → take → bills
So, the idea that I'm building out here is we just do a step here, a step there, constantly doing what we can to take pressure off families.
asserted
we → build → families
But 20 million British households getting support with that council tax rebate early in the new year, I think it will really help people just when they need it most.'
asserted
they → get → it
Chancellor John Healey announced in Wednesday's Budget that the VAT cut on electricity bills was to be extended to July, and gas standing charges are to be shifted to unit rates, with similar reforms to follow for electricity bills.
asserted
charges → announce → bills
Ofgem's price cap rose by 3.6 per cent to £1,723 for a typical household on October 1, with a further rise of about 22 per cent forecast in January.
asserted
cap → rise → January
The Resolution Foundation said the Budget's policies would not prevent energy bills from jumping above levels seen during the last energy shock.
asserted
policies → say → shock
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the £100 payment would 'barely dent' the predicted rise households face in January and that 'because it is paid directly into household accounts in England, it may not even be spent on staying warm this winter'.
uncertain
it → say → England
Questioned on the method chosen for distributing the money, Mr Burnham's spokesman told reporters: 'We're offering support for households struggling with their energy bills through the council tax system because it's the quickest way to get money to the families who need it.
asserted
who → question → it
'
Renters paying council tax will get the rebate, while landlords renting out their property and people's second homes will not.
asserted
landlords → pay → property
The payment will be automatic and there is an established system for identifying eligible households, according to officials.
uncertain
payment → be → officials
The Aporia
