ENERGY bills for a typical household will rise again in January as prices are expected to remain high into the next year.
It means that somebody paying by direct debit and using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1738 a year, or £21 a year more.
The quarterly cap by regulator Ofcom sets a limit on the cost of each unit of energy and affects 26 million households in Scotland, Wales and England.
In response, the Scottish Greens have called on Keir Starmer (below) to immediately U-turn on the Labour Government’s decision to make cuts to the universal Winter Fuel Payment.
MSP Maggie Chapman said: “This increase will further punish people and families all across the UK.
“The Labour Party should be utterly ashamed of their decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments and to force thousands of pensioners way beyond having to choose between heating their home and eating.
“With bills soaring and temperatures plummeting, this cut is becoming more callous with every passing day. People will die because of it.”
We previously told how leading charity Age Scotland had also called for Labour to reverse the cut as temperatures dropped.
According to the Met Office, temperatures hit as low as -6C overnight at Tulloch Bridge, with weather warnings in place across the country.
Chapman continued: “The support that the UK offers to pensioners is already far too low, and so many are having their budgets stretched by rising living costs.
“Means testing is wrong. It creates stigma. It creates cracks for people to fall through, while fuelling division with questions about who is worthy of receiving services and who is not.
“A lot of pensioners already living in fuel poverty are no longer eligible for this benefit because they are only a few pounds over the threshold.
“We all have the right to a warm home, but Sir Keir Starmer is taking it away from people all over our country.
“It is time for him to admit he was wrong, reverse this disastrous move and protect people through a long, cold winter.”
