Even if policymakers have the right objectives, their intentions are often frustrated by limited policy levers or fall flat on contact with the real world.
Take energy bill support. The inability to immediately target bill reductions at poorer households is why government is capping all our energy costs at the equivalent of £2,500 for a typical bill. The Treasury’s understandable discomfort with that means the cap is rising to £3,000 in April before ending a year later, with the government consulting on a longer-term “new approach to consumer protection in energy markets”.
