Never mind Covid (for now), millions of people in the UK are going to have a tough time this winter. The lorry driver shortage is pushing up food prices, the gas price surge has already forced seven energy companies into bankruptcy, the £20 per week universal credit to-up is being withdrawn, the cap on energy price rises is being removed, and shortly after winter, everyone has to pay more in National Insurance to pay for the care system shortfall.
A poverty charity has calculated that the annual hit on poorest families amounts to extra costs of £710 per year – and that’s going to rise if inflation continues to grow (the price of milk has gone up by about 15% lately for example). That may not sound like much – it works out at a little over £13.50 per week – but for families hit by furlough over the last 18 months, it could make the difference between eating or not.
The Government’s response has been to point to their “warm home discount scheme”, which gives eligible homes a discount of £140 off their fuel bills. The eligibility criteria is based on income of course, and totally relies on the energy company signing up to the scheme. And the criteria includes having to stay with the same energy company for the duration of the payments: so if your energy company is one of the ones forced to the wall over the rising gas prices, meaning you have to change suppliers, will the new supplier honour the discount? Probably not.
And the removal of the Universal Credit top-up elicits the response from Government that it is expected that employers will pay higher wages to offset the loss of the benefit. Pardon? They expect companies voluntarily to pay employees more? And what about those who don’t actually have an employer to donate such largesse? You can hear the sound of hand-washing going on from the Palace of Westminster even as I type.
So a quick calculation: additional annual costs of £710, less the £140 energy discount means an annual hit of £570 and counting: a harsh winter is in prospect. Back in August, it was revealed that the Government was buying up Union flags at a cost of £250 each: gives you an idea of its spending priorities doesn’t it, and it apparently doesn’t include helping the country’s poorest.