Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said he is “deeply concerned” some Britons could freeze this winter if they are cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
The cabinet minister admitted the current support package to help people cope was “not enough” – but claimed “more help is coming” when Boris Johnson’s sucessor is in place at No 10.
There million more Britons could be thrust into absolute poverty without further intervention, one think tank has forecast – while experts have warned that cold homes would cost the lives of some children.
Asked how worried he was about that some could freeze during the cost of living crisis this winter, Mr Zahawi told Sky News: “I’m deeply concerned.”
The chancellor said “nobody should be cut off this winter because they can’t afford their [energy bill]” – but could not guarantee some families in debt will see their gas and electricity shut off.
“I’m working with the companies, and NGOs, to make sure those people who really are struggling get the help,” he said, adding that people who fear they cannot pay their bills “should contact their company”.
Mr Zahawi said he and Treasury officials has been drawing up new energy bill support options for Tory leadership contenders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, saying “nothing off the table”.
The chancellor confirmed the government was considering Scottish Power’s plan to set up a fund for energy companies which would allow them to freeze or heavily discount bills for the next two years.
Asked if the £37bn of support package already set out this year was enough, he said: “Of course it’s not … More help, beyond the £37bn, is coming.”
Truss, who remains the strong favourite to win the Tory leadership race, has yet to commit to any further direct support payments to ease the pain of soaring energy bills. The frontrunner is thought to be considering extra payments for low-income households and pensioners.
In perhaps the strongest hint yet she would offer some “handouts”, Ms Truss told The Sun she would provide “immediate support to ensure people are not facing unaffordable fuel bills”.
The contest favourite also told last night’s final Tory hustings would “absolutely” offer support to businesses hit by massive hikes in energy bills, though it was not clear if she was considering grants or tax cuts for firms.
Asked if he would support Truss’s emergency budget, senior Tory MP Mark Harper, a Sunak backer, told Sky News: “I think reality is going to intrude. I don’t think the plans that she’s set out are going to stick because they simply don’t deliver help to people.”
The latest report by the Resolution Foundation said real household disposable incomes are on course to fall by 10 per cent over this year and next – warning that the number of people living in absolute poverty is set to rise by three million, to 14 million people.
The think tank said it was “the biggest squeeze in a century” and warned that Britons faced a “living standards catastrophe” without significant new support.
More than 6,000 people die each winter from fuel poverty, but the figure is likely to be “much higher this year”, according to a new report by researchers from the UCL Institute of Health Equity.
Prof Ian Sinha of Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospital, co-author of the report, told The Guardian that he had “no doubt” the energy crisis would cost some children’s lives this winter.
Meanwhile, the boss of Ovo Energy has set out his company’s 10-point plan to address the energy crisis, saying the government should provide help with bills that taper off for high earners using more electricity.
Stephen Fitzpatrick told the BBC helping low income families with energy bills “has to be the first order of business” for the next prime minister.
“If we don’t use every available moment over the next 12 weeks to solve this, we are going to see a winter like never before with people going hungry and going cold and the NHS being overwhelmed by the health impacts of the energy crisis,” he said.
