To go back to being terrified about energy bills from April.

[Thisismynamenow]

So Jeremy Hunt seems to have scrapped scaled back the energy scheme as of April, and moved to a targeted approach from them.

We are always over the threshold for means tested support but finances are always tight, so sounds like our prices will increase dramatically in April for energy again. Just in time for our nursery fees of well over £1000 per month to start.

I'm back to be terrified of how to afford it. We cut back as much as possible and don't plan on having the heating on until absolutely necessary, so can't cut anymore usage (we're below the average usage figures).

This government is absolutely useless and utterly destructive.

Older people in large homes can heat a few rooms in the house. Or get a lodger in.

It means everyone can heat to a basic standard

No it doesn't, not if it isn't based on the number of people in your house. It would have to be per person, not per household.

OP - Why would you need to leave your child with an unregistered childminder? There's plenty of excellent registered childminders. I don't know how big your house is, but if you're working from home, would someone be able to come to the house and child mind whilst you are working.

But 6 people in a 3 bedroom house or 4 people still use the same amount of heating.

Where is Liz Truss in all this? Oh yes hiding.

I wouldn't worry TO much just yet, she's not going to stay in power if she can't even show her face.

But 6 people in a 3 bedroom house or 4 people still use the same amount of heating

Not necessarily, and they use more electricity.

@mam In some areas, there is a severe shortage of registered childminders, but unregistered ones operating.
Someone coming to your home is a nanny and more expensive.

Yes, very frustrating isn't it!!

But not 50% more electricity.
It will be too expensive to work out a calculation that is fair based on number of people who live in a house and various permutations. What about children who spend 50/50 with each parent for example. A household calculation is more realistic.

They have said the universal support will not continue and it will be targeted.

We are receiving the £67 a month deduction despite a substantial annual income - I'm donating it to the food bank

It's not 'fair', or rather, it's not helping those mist in need. People on high incomes don't need it, people with low incomes, bigger families. Those on benefits, those with low incomes just above benefits levels.

Food prices are going up considerably and will probably continue to do so for the near/mid term.
The cost of other goods and services, such as car maintenance, childcare, train tickets, emergency plumber etc. are similarly increasing.
Petrol costs have increased hugely, and may well rise again.
There are massive increases in mortgage rates due for many over the next two years as fixed rate deals come to an end.
inflation is corroding personal pensions, so need large increases of contributions to even only keep pace.

So with all that above, and much much more, who exactly are “all those people who can afford the energy increases”?

Also the poor are more likely to be living in poorly insulated homes.

The energy bill for my modem well insulated four bed house is less than the one for my DD's tiny terraced cottage (a single small open plan living room/kitchen downstairs type size)

But beyond that, the prime minister and I have agreed it would not be responsible to continue exposing public finances to unlimited volatility in international gas prices

Yeah, it's SO much better to expose the general public to that sort of volatility instead.

Utter fucking cunts, the lot of them. Fuck off to the far side of fuck.

That’s a nanny you’re describing, traditionally more expensive, certainly for one child.

So with all that above, and much much more, who exactly are “all those people who can afford the energy increases”?

Exactly. THE ECONOMY can't afford the energy increases as no-one will know from one month to the next whether they can afford anything. The cap on prices for two years provided certainty.

@Thisismynamenow

Try not to panic. They're already talking about various ways of reducing the cost of energy with some interesting options.

At the moment 24 hours is a very long time in politics. Everything could be massively different by April.

Yhe thing that's getting to me is people not being able to rely on decisions that have been made. Basing home purchases/job decisions.childcare, loads on what they say such as 2 years of a fixed price cap. Fixing mortgages on statements the govt have made.

if the Government announces a 2year Price Fix we SHOULD be able to trust that won't change & makes decisions around that.

There are a few instances on this thread where it strikes me that people don’t know how much energy they use. A blasé “we pay £130/month” is NOT the same as “we USE £130/month”.

start taking your meter readings EVERY SINGLE FUCKING WEEK.

im not trying to be a smug cunt about this - but have just hit back at my energy company who are frankly pulling numbers out of their arse and I’ve been able to give them photos and figures.

nobody would be this laissez-faire about their salary - but if it’s in a cupboard under the stairs it’s like there’s a shunned responsibility.

OP - are you GENUINELY a “below average” user? I ask because I am. Dishwasher on every day. Washing machine every day. WFH. 3000 alexas, blah blah. I’m in the far north of Scotland (100% electric) and spending about £5/day. Obviously I’d rather it were cheaper - but here we are. know your numbers!

If help ends in April, you won't need the heating on until next October, so you have a year to improve your insulation.

Extra layer of loft insulation, rugs, thermal lined curtains. It's going to be a DIY summer 😐 At least we have some advance warning.

@StarDolphins of course you use your savings. Why should anyone else pay for your usage?

This is just normal full time nursery fee, pretty standard.

The whole thing is an utter shitshow. The government promised a 2 year cap and have now pulled that rug from under people's feet. A 6-month support package would have been more sensible from the outset, but now people will feel like something has been taken away from them... along with all of the unaffordable tax cuts to boot. Nobody will ever trust this government again, as they flip policies from one day to the next and barely even acknowledge the charge of course. There is clearly not an ounce of competence in Truss, and there is zero credibility. I can't see how she can survive. How do any of us know that next week, we won't be looking at an entirely different set of policies altogether? How can any of us make sensible plans about our personal finances?

She is finished. It isn't surprising that she has proved to be a terrible PM. Most of us could see that coming. What has surprised me a little is the sheer scale and speed of her monumental fuck-up. She'd have struggled to be worse even if she was trying to go down as the worst PM in history. I don't know how she will ever be able to go out and face people again....

Two years was just going to cost too much and we saw the instability that followed. Iirc Labour would only do 6 months too

Someone posted wholesale prices are coming down hopefully continue

Also imo some help for those at lowest incomes is more likely than for everyone which is currently the case

The man is a totall hunt.

Rising mortgages no cap on energy. It will end in Diasater.

It is really awful.
The cap was a lifeline for so many.
This is not workable.