Allow us to redistribute the £200 Fuel Relief Crisis Loan!

Rishi Sunak has announced a £9bn plan to "soften the blow" of soaring domestic energy prices by offering every household a £200 loan which must be paid back interest free over 5 years. This is currently for every house with no exceptions!

What people do not understand is that the Price Cap is forecast to again rise by c.£500 in October, when the £200 is scheduled to kick in. This feels like a way to deflect from reality. Acting like £200 today covers much of the £700 increase. In reality that increase will be £1200 in October! Is £200 enough really?

However, I propose that households who feel they can navigate through without the £200 rebate, should be able to redistribute their £200 to others that are more in need. Either directly, or in to a fund that is split across those most at risk.

I do not think £200 is enough intervention from the government and frankly, it is after the horse has bolted. They should have been slamming the regulator a long time ago for continuing with a price cap that is not fit for purpose and refusing to act on obvious concerns with gas storage, UK generation and a reliance on renewables that we just weren’t ready for.

At least being able to turn down the loan on the promise that it will still be shared out to those most in need could then see that fund really make a difference in the right places.

The big question for the UK chancellor and his boss Prime Minister Boris Johnson is whether they have done enough to protect the most vulnerable in Britain?

Sunak’s “energy bills rebate”, is a token gesture and their insistence that it will be both “for every household & repayable” means that it is not anywhere near as effective as it could be!

£9bn spent correctly could actually do a serious amount of good. Let’s start by asking them to change the scheme allowing people to re-share their own £200 allocation with people close to them who need it more.

 Who will be hit hardest by rising UK energy bills? The £693 rise in the energy price cap in April will take the UK average to £1,971pa. With the National Insurance increase and a freeze to income tax thresholds that will cost the average household £600. It will likely leave a typical household almost £1,300 worse off from April. For those that are already struggling this could be fatal.

Stop using the rebate as a political tool to win back a few voters and allow the British people the opportunity to opt out of the £200 loan and redistribute that cash directly to those who just cannot survive that hike!