Some of Nottinghamshire's MPs say they are confident that more Government support on energy bills will be provided next year as people struggle with rising costs and cold temperatures. Energy bills have been rising along with other household costs for much of the year, with factors including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation among the factors putting pressure on families.
The Government has introduced a range of measures for those struggling with bills, with the most significant being the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The scheme applies to all British households and sees £400 being taken off energy bills, with the non-repayable discount being applied in six instalments between October and March.
But as the time period for that scheme draws to a close, some of Nottinghamshire's MPs say they are confident that more support will be on the way. Ben Bradley, Mansfield's Conservative MP and the Nottinghamshire County Council leader, said: "Jeremy Hunt (the Chancellor) has said that he expects to extend some of the energy support from April.
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"There will be a review of the business support as well and I would expect that to continue to some extent. We've already heard that there are future rounds of the Household Support Fund, so there is an awful lot and if residents are struggling, the chances are that there is support they can access.
"For those on the lowest incomes, the support runs into thousands of pounds. I would just encourage residents to get in touch with councils or the Department for Work and Pensions and Citizens Advice who can point them in the direction for that support."
Mr Hunt has pledged in some media interviews that the Energy Bills Support Scheme will continue beyond March, and says that details on this will be set put out 'very soon'. The Chancellor had initially been due to unveil a new package of support for businesses by the end of 2022, but this was controversially delayed to the new year after Mr Hunt said he wanted more time to finalise details.
While acknowledging that more support would be needed, Ruschliffe's Conservative MP Ruth Edwards said that a 'fine line' needed to be trod. She said: "We have had tens of billions of pounds of support from Government coming in over the last year and that has been targeted at the most vulnerable households. Of course it is tough for people and that's why we have to walk a very fine line between making sure that we support people and that we are not fuelling inflation further by pumping too much money into the system.
"We've seen good news in the last announcement that inflation is starting to tail off. The Chancellor has announced support right up until the March budget and he has promised an update in the new year on what energy support is going to look like after that date so we will have to wait and see what is said, but he has made it clear that there will be continued support for those who need it most."
But Nottingham North's Labour and Co-op MP, Alex Norris, said that people were struggling and that long-term help was needed as well as short-term financial measures. He said: "People are struggling and they have been for many, many years while keeping their heads above water but in the face of inflation, they are not able to in the same way.
"We have got contact with people who are very concerned about their finances and from businesses who are struggling too and who fear that in the new year, people will be very hard pressed and will not be out spending their money. The energy support scheme was a hugely important thing and we banged the drum all year on that, but we want to be able to stand on our own two feet in our communities as well.
"It is important that Government support is put in place, but that stuff is short-term. What we need is to be able to bring jobs to the area and to make sure that they are well-paid jobs. The short-term action is important and we'll find out any day what is going on after April because the need won't go away, although hopefully when the weather changes, some of the consumption will."
Tory MP Mr Bradley added: "We'd had a really mild autumn but clearly we are now in minus temperatures and that is a challenge. Because it has happened later, though, I think we are a bit more prepared, so we have managed to roll out energy vouchers and the discounts on bills, but communities also step up as well.
"We do hear really difficult stories but I'm confident that we're doing everything we possibly can to try and help people." Nottingham City Council, together with the local NHS, is also running the Ask Lion website, which has information and advice on everything from household budgeting to finding places like community supermarkets and food banks that offer cheap food.
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