Closing summary
Ministers are to meet energy company executives on Thursday to discuss measures to tackle the rising cost of living as the UK government considers beefing up a windfall tax on their profits.
The chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, and the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, will meet gas and electricity bosses as the Treasury considers toughening the 25% levy on the profits of North Sea oil and gas operators announced in May.
Since the tax was announced, oil and gas companies have announced even larger profits than previously anticipated. Unions labelled the bumper earnings an “insult to millions” as the cost of living hits households, who are facing bills of more than £4,000 next year.
Consumers already owe energy suppliers a record £1.3bn even before bills go up further, according to research from uSwitch.
Consumer champion Martin Lewis and the bosses of Octopus Energy and Utilita have called on the government to act urgently to stop what Lewis described as a “national crisis on the scale of the pandemic”. Higher energy costs are expected to push UK inflation, currently at 9.4%, above 13% in coming months.
It’s a different picture in the US, where inflation slowed more than expected last month to 8.5% from June’s four-decade high of 9.1%, reflecting lower energy and gasoline costs, while the core rate (excluding food and energy) remained at 5.9%, rather than picking up to 6.1% as forecast.
Stocks on Wall Street have rallied and the dollar has fallen sharply as investors are betting that the US Federal Reserve may hike interest rates less aggressively, with signs that inflation has peaked.
Our other main stories today:
Thank you for joining us today. We’ll be back tomorrow. Take care – JK
Just in: The environment secretary George Eustice and environment minister Steve Double met with the CEOs of water companies this morning to discuss their response to the driest summer in more than 50 years.
Ministers heard from CEOs about how their companies are taking necessary steps to safeguard public water supplies and mitigate the effects of this exceptionally dry period.
Eustice said:
All water companies have reassured me that water supplies remain resilient across the country. Each company has a pre-agreed drought plan which they are following, and I have urged them to take any precautionary steps needed to protect essential supplies as we go into a likely very dry autumn.
We are better prepared than ever before for periods of dry weather with a system that is working well to manage water usage, protect the environment and maintain water supplies for the public and critical sectors. We will continue to actively monitor the situation, working alongside partners including the Environment Agency.
