Councillors from the Medway Labour and Co-operative are calling on the government to temporarily cut VAT on household energy bills to help relieve the increasing economic pressure on Medway families.
Cllr Naushabah Khan, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Housing said:
“Tory complacency about rising gas prices meant they slashed the amount of storage we have in this country, leaving us exposed to global price shocks. Their incompetence means that Medway residents are now facing massive hikes in their energy bills, so much so that last month’s domestic energy costs reached an all-time high.
“We are calling on the government to undo the damage they’ve caused by temporarily cutting VAT on domestic energy bills, paid for by higher than expected VAT receipts. This would reduce people’s bills immediately.”
Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of the Medway Labour and Co-operative Group added:
“The latest statistics indicate that over 10,000 households in Medway are experiencing fuel poverty. Considering these statistics were taken before the latest explosive growth in fuel prices, the true reality will be even worse across our towns this winter. This is a grave matter as fuel poverty in many instances will be the cause of ill health or debt.
“When you also factor in this government’s council tax and national insurance rises, it’s clear that this cost of living crisis will be plunging more and more Medway residents into severe economic trouble in 2022. Councillor Khan and I shall be raising this issue at the Full Council meeting on the 20th of January.
“A Labour government would act now and slash VAT on domestic energy bills, helping relieve the pressure on families across Medway.”
Notes
Fuel poverty statistics for Medway can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2021
Energy prices reach an all-time high in December 2021 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/01/6m-homes-uk-pay-energy-bills-price-hike-fuel-poverty