Boris Johnson will ask cabinet ministers to come up with ideas on easing the cost of living crisis as Britons were warned of a £10bn annual hike in petrol and diesel costs.
The prime minister wants colleagues to develop “innovative” ways to reduce the pressure on households, saying moves to ease the burden from price rises and soaring bills must be “a team effort”.
On Tuesday Mr Johnson will urge ministers to do more to promote existing support schemes which have not been widely taken up, but The Independent understands that no new measures will be discussed.
Opposition parties accused the PM of being “out of ideas”, as the government comes under growing pressure to deliver further financial support through an emergency budget.
Labour has warned that the British public faces a £10bn hike in annual fuel costs at the pumps, calling again for a cut to energy bills funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party said the cost of a litre of unleaded petrol rose by 37p over the past year based on figures from a three-day period in mid-April 2022. For diesel, the rise was 47p over the same period, the party said.
Factoring in the number of cars per household in the UK, along with averages for distance travelled and fuel used, the party calculated that drivers face spending an additional £6bn on petrol and £4.2bn on diesel this year compared to last.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut fuel duty by 5p in his spring statement – but Labour said this had been “swallowed up” by soaring costs.
Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for transport, said: “This is a savage extra cost for working people. The Conservative government needs to set out an emergency Budget to tackle its cost-of-living crisis.”
Saying the British people had been left “exposed to unstable foreign oil”, she said Labour’s plan for a windfall tax on oil and gas giants would help households through this crisis with up to £600 cut off energy bills.
The Liberal Democrats have also called for a windfall tax. Leader Sir Ed Davey said the PM’s call for suggestions showed that the Tory government was “completely out of ideas during the most profound crisis in decades”.
Davey added: “While families are facing sky-rocketing bills and soaring inflation, Boris Johnson’s answer is another quiz night at No 10.”
Around four in 10 people (43 per cent) said they found it hard to afford their energy bills last month, according to grim new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Monday.
Some 87 per cent of adults reported an increase in their living costs over the previous month in March – an increase of 25 per cent compared with November. Nearly a quarter of adults said that it had been “very difficult or difficult” to pay their household bills last month.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet, Mr Johnson said: “With household bills and living costs rising in the face of global challenges, easing the burden on the British people and growing our economy must be a team effort across cabinet.”
The PM added: “We have a strong package of financial support on offer, worth £22bn, and it’s up to all of us to make sure that help is reaching the hardest-hit and hardworking families across the country.”
The government has estimated that around 1.3 million families could be taking up more support through the tax-free childcare scheme, which offers up to £2,000 towards childcare costs a year.
There are also an estimated 850,000 eligible households who are not claiming pension credit, which could be worth over £3,300 a year for pensioners.
Some Tory MPs fear that Mr Sunak’s failure to offer more help with bills and benefits will cost the party dearly at the local elections next week. MP Andrew Bridgen has said the chancellor may have to consider an emergency budget before the summer recess.
A government spokesperson said the £22bn package of support mentioned by the PM included the raising of the national insurance contribution threshold, moves to lower the universal credit taper rate and the expansion of eligibility for the Warm Homes discount, as well as the £200 energy rebate scheme.
