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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Kieran Isgin

'My head has sunk': Martin Lewis' slams Rishi Sunak's spring budget as cost of living soars

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis has slammed to the Chancellor's spring budget, stating it's not enough to deal with the energy cost crisis plaguing the country. Mr Sunak announced today that VAT on household energy-efficient measures will be scrapped.

It means that energy-saving devices such as solar panels will no longer require an added tax cost. This could cut the cost of solar panels by around £1,000. At this time, Northern Ireland will not receive this change, but Mr Sunak noted the region will get equivalent funding.

But Mr Lewis has criticised the announcement, stating it won't have any effective impact on the many households in the UK who will see sharp rises in the cost of their energy bills. It comes amid expectations that people will see an average rise of £1,300 on energy cost by October.

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"If that's all he's doing on energy - it is limited and won't impact the majority of households who will see a likely £1,300 average increase in year-on-year bills by October, " Mr Lewis wrote on Twitter. My head has sunk. I just hope there's a rabbit to come out of the hat."

Mr Lewis has previously warned the public of being caught out on their energy bills and spending more money than they should. He noted how cancelling energy direct debits with suppliers could lead to people being charged at a higher rate.

Alongside the energy-saving measures, Mr Sunak also announced a duel duty cut by 5p for 12 months, an extra £500m for local authority hardship funds and a threshold increase in national insurance by £3,000.

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