‘Won’t last forever’: Chancellor warns energy bill support costs the same as entire NHS

But on Thursday, the Chancellor is expected to announce that average household bills under the energy price guarantee will soar. Plans for the scheme to be extended beyond April are reportedly still being worked on, but current internal Government estimates suggest household energy bills could surge by up to £600.

The Government is reportedly paying £60billion for the energy price guarantee over the course of six months though, in the Treasury budget plans submitted to the Office for Budget Responsibility, Mr Hunt has reportedly allotted just £20billion to extend the scheme by a further six months from April. 

During this period, average bills are expected to increase to between £2,800 and £3,100. But Mr Hunt is said to be planning to carry on shielding the most vulnerable Britons from energy bills rises, including pensioners and benefit claimants, who will still have their bills frozen at £2,500 after the energy price guarantee draws to a close. 

Mr Hunt said: “We have to be honest with people; it’s not possible to subsidise people’s energy bills indefinitely.”

He later added: “In the end, if we want to be a low-tax economy we’ve got to find a way of not ending up with an entire second NHS in terms of the cost of our energy bills … which will drag down growth and so … that is something that you can expect to hear a lot about when I stand up [on Thursday].”

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1695980/jeremy-hunt-energy-bills-nhs-energy-price-guarantee