Report

Energy bill support: Interim report

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at designing policies to support British households in an age of high prices.

This report from Social Market Foundation think-tank looks at options for designing a durable energy bills support policy It hardly need restating that Britain faces an energy crisis with higher than average bills not just for this winter or next, but likely for the rest of the decade. The current approach for supporting households is inadequate for this challenge – stringing together emergency policies cobbled together every few months against a patchy backdrop of inherited schemes. What is needed is a coherent, evidence-based approach from first principles to design durable policies that garner public support. Our project with Public First, commissioned and supported by Citizens Advice seeks to do just that. Our interim report sets out a range of policy options to provide financial support, improve energy efficiency and reform the market for lower energy bills. Crucially, the report highlights how the government’s current approach to targeting additional support via the social security system would leave 7.2 million facing real hardship come April 2023. The project will continue to run in the new year with a consultation period on the interim report’s findings.