£110bn needed to cover energy bill rises over next year, study finds

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak plans will only make ‘small dent’ in bills, warns Institute for Government

Households set to spend £900 more on energy this autumn than expected only three months ago (PA)

The government would need to spend more than £110bn to cover almost all of Britons’ extra energy costs over the next year, a new report by Institute for Government (IfG) has found.

It would cost £23bn to cover October’s energy price cap hike, according to the think tank – with the average household set to spend £900 more on energy this autumn than was expected only three months ago.

Extending support to ease the pain of soaring bills next year would cost another £90bn, the IfG said, raising the prospect of “substantial” spending during the cost of living crisis.