Almost two million homes across Scotland could be in line for a £100 payment to help with their soaring energy bills this winter, the Chancellor has revealed.
John Healey told MPs the UK Government will spend a total of £2.6 billion to help households in council tax bands A to D, with the cash being paid straight to their bank account.
But the payment will only be given to Scots if the SNP Government chooses to pass on the extra funding it will receive as a result of Healey's announcement. Healey said money would be given to devolved administrations and called on them to “do the same and give people of all nations of the UK breathing space on their energy bills this winter”.
Chancellor announces £100 payment for 20 million households
The Chancellor said: “Let me say this to families at home. I know that with the conflict in the Middle East, rising energy bills are a real worry. I know that people look to Government at times like this, not to solve all their problems, but to give them a bit of breathing space.
“So today I’m taking one further step. This winter, for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D, I am announcing a £100 energy payment for households, paid directly into people’s bank accounts to deal with rising energy bills.
“That’s a £2.6 billion scheme to take the pressure off in the coldest months and see people through to the spring.”
Economic storm and rising borrowing costs
The Chancellor said the UK was being battered by a global economic storm, with the Budget watchdog slashing its forecast for gross domestic product growth next year. The public finances have also taken a battering, with the cost of borrowing soaring and the UK spending £14 billion more on debt interest this year, Mr Healey said.
The Chancellor told MPs: “Those are the storms we face. We can’t wish them away. We must choose the course we steer through them.”
Healey hiked taxes on banks and gambling firms to provide “breathing space” he promised for households and high street businesses. He said the Office for Budget Responsibility had identified the war in the Middle East as the key driver in the economic forecasts.
But he promised “to steer us through the global economic storms today, to chart a new course for Britain in the years ahead, to give people fresh hope for Britain’s future”.
Business rates relief and growth forecasts
Healey also announced an increase in gambling taxes to pay for business rates relief for high street firms. He said it would mean that 70,000 businesses would be taken out of paying rates altogether, “meaning half of our shops, restaurants and gyms will now pay no business rates at all”.
Despite the economic difficulties, the Office for Budget Responsibility increased its forecast for economic growth in 2026 from 1.1% in March this year to 1.2%. But the forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth was slashed from 1.6% to just 1.0% in 2027.
The forecast is then unchanged at 1.6% in 2028 before rising to 1.8% in 2029, then 1.7% in 2030 against forecasts of 1.5% in each of those years, then 1.6% in 2031.
