Ex-Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt backs ‘social tariff’ to help less well-off households with energy bills

Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt joins calls for a targeted 'social tariff' as a thinktank warns households face a £480 hit from energy market turmoil linked to the Iran conflict. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• Ex-Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt backs ‘social tariff’ to help less well-off households with energy bills

Contesto

Former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has publicly backed the introduction of a "social tariff" for energy, a policy designed to shield lower-income households from soaring bills. The endorsement comes alongside a stark warning from the Resolution Foundation thinktank, which calculates that the average British household will be nearly £500 worse off this year due to rising costs for gas, electricity, and petrol, a situation it links directly to market instability stemming from the Iran war. The Resolution Foundation's analysis paints a grim picture of the immediate financial pressure facing consumers. It identifies a dual squeeze from escalating domestic energy bills and higher costs at the fuel pump, creating a significant drain on household budgets. The thinktank has explicitly connected this pressure to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, underscoring how international conflict can rapidly translate into domestic economic pain for ordinary citizens. In response to this looming crisis, the foundation has issued an urgent call to the government. It urges ministers to accelerate policy development to establish a social tariff before the onset of winter, when energy demand and costs peak. The proposed mechanism would function as a targeted subsidy, offering discounted energy rates specifically to less well-off families and individuals, thereby providing a more precise safety net than broad-based support measures. The proposal carries significant fiscal implications, with the Resolution Foundation estimating the annual cost of such a program at approximately £3.7 billion. This figure frames the political and economic challenge for the Treasury: balancing targeted relief against broader budgetary constraints. Jeremy Hunt's support, given his recent tenure overseeing the nation's finances, lends considerable weight to the debate, suggesting the idea has traction across the political spectrum as a potential solution to a persistent cost-of-living issue. The central question now is whether the government will heed these calls and commit to designing and funding a social tariff in time for the winter heating season. With households already forecast to be...

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Categoria: cronaca