Energy bills: Fuel cost hike puts pressure on families amid unprecedented £700 rise

Householders say they sometimes don’t eat to save money as people face cost-of-living crisis

Starmer hits out at government’s ‘pathetic’ response to cost of living crisis

Families have described how they are struggling to cover their food and energy costs as annual energy bills rise by around £700.

One site manager told The Independent how he couldn’t afford to socialise any more, and a hairdressing business owner said he could not always afford meals, saying: “Sometimes I eat, sometimes I don’t”.

The £693-a-year rise in a typical energy bill will affect 18 million households, and 4.5 million customers on prepaid meters will face an increase of £708 a year.

The rising prices will double the number of households in “fuel stress” – a term for those spending 10 per cent or more of their income after housing costs on energy bills – overnight from 2.5 to 5 million in England alone, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.

Protesters from the climate group Just Stop Oil blocked “10 critical oil terminals” across the UK this morning, as the biggest rise in British energy bills takes effect.

See below for how our live coverage unfolded.

Key Points

[31 March 2022 16:25 · Adam Forrest]

Sunak says he won’t change course for ‘short-term popularity’

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has admitted to the BBC that his approach to the cost of living crisis had been unpopular and “difficult for people to hear”.

Despite criticism of his Spring Statement from the opposition, charities and some Tory MPs, Mr Sunak said he remained “confident in what we’ve done” to support people struggling with rising bills.

In a Newscast interview due to be released later on Thursday, the chancellor said “not going to deviate” from fiscal restraint in favour of “some short-term popularity gain”.

Mr Sunak said: “I know it’s tough for people. We’re facing a very difficult situation with the price of things going up and I want to do what we can to ameliorate some of that – but I’m also honest with people that we can’t ameliorate all of it, sadly.”

He added: “That’s difficult for people to hear, and the toughest part of this job is not being able to do everything that people would like you to do. Because we’re already borrowing quite a large amount of money, and I don’t think borrowing lots more would be sensible.”

Mr Sunak admitted some of the moves he has made are “certainly unpopular”, adding: “But they’re responsible and will help us in the long-term and I’m not going to deviate from that just for some short-term popularity gain.”

[31 March 2022 16:37 · Emily Atkinson]

Brits may face egg shortage amid energy price hike, trade body warns

UK shoppers could be confronted with an egg shortage within “a matter of weeks” unless retailers raise prices to cover rapidly increasing production costs.

PA reports:

The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) said customers were likely to see shortages without urgent action. It predicted 10% to 15% of farmers could leave the industry, with many on the brink of bankruptcy due to the unprecedented rises in the cost of production.

Farmers were losing money on every egg they produced due to feed cost increases, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which had added 25p to 30p per dozen.

This had come on the heels of “never-before-seen” increases across the supply chain, from pullets to energy, and labour shortages.

[31 March 2022 16:51 · Emily Atkinson]

Bulb Energy users face 20 minute wait to sign in to website

The energy supply company Bulb appears to have set up a website traffic management system on their page to help combat today’s sudden surge in demand.

It comes as energy companies’ online services have stopped working properly on the final day for customers to submit meter readings.

A screenshot shared by one of my colleagues at The Independent shows Bulb have set up Cloudflare on their site in an attempt to bust the traffic, which leaves users in a virtual queue for 20 minutes before they can even sign in to their profiles.

(Bulb Energy Screenshot/ The Independent)

[31 March 2022 17:09 · Emily Atkinson]

Tips and tricks to save money as the cost of living rises

Millions of Britons have already felt a squeeze on their finances this year, but the cost of living crisis is set to deepen from 1 April, with significant increases in energy bills, VAT, national insurance and more.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who unveiled some measures to mitigate the crisis in his Spring Statement last week, said he is “confident in what we’ve done” to support people.

But many people will still be looking for more areas in which they can save money to deal with the rising costs of everyday essentials.

Click are some of The Independent’s top tips and tricks to save some extra cash:

[31 March 2022 17:21 · Emily Atkinson]

No 10 says stance on fracking not changed but will ‘look at all options’

One of the issues being considered is the future of fracking and whether the moratorium should remain in place, with Downing Street insisting that the situation in Ukraine meant considering all options to increase energy independence.

A No 10 spokesman said: “Our general position on fracking has not changed. The pause on the development of shale remains in place.

“But it is of course right that we look at all of our options which will inform the energy security strategy.”

[31 March 2022 17:38 · Emily Atkinson]

West rejects Putin’s ‘blackmail’ over oil and gas payment

Vladimir Putin has warned he will turn the taps off unless “unfriendly” countries start paying for oil and gas in roubles from Friday, in a move intended to shore up the value of the Russian currency, which has plummeted since Moscow’s 24 February invasion of Ukraine.

European leaders said gas contracts were signed with stipulations for payment in euros or US dollars and will not change.

German economy minister Robert Habeck said “it is crucial for us that the contracts are respected.”

“It is important for us not to give a signal that we will be blackmailed by Putin.”

[31 March 2022 17:58 · Emily Atkinson]

Watch: Martin Lewis explains how £150 council tax rebate will be paid into your bank

[31 March 2022 18:20 · Emily Atkinson]

GMB says government is ‘treating its own workforce with contempt'

GMB union has threatened potential industrial action over the government’s “miserly offer” to working families struggling to cover the bills.

Kevin Brandstatter, GMB national officer for the civil service, said: “The Government is treating its own workforce with contempt. Limiting pay increases to 2% is a slap in the face to 500,000 public servants who kept vital services going through two years of the pandemic.

“A decade of pay freezes and cuts have seen up to 20% drops in real terms pay. With the rising cost of living, for many working families this miserly offer will leave them struggling to cover the bills.

“GMB members are angered by the minister’s announcement and we will be urgently consulting about next steps, including potential industrial action.”

[31 March 2022 18:40 · Emily Atkinson]

Cost of living crisis: Everything you need to do before price surges on 1 April

The cost of living crisis is set to intensify from 1 April, when households will witness the biggest rise in the cost of energy in living memory.

Bills are set to increase by a whopping 54 per cent, or almost £700, to just under £2,000 a year.

National Insurance contributions are set to rise by 1.25 percent, while inflation and water bills are expected to soar.

While this is undoubtedly a stressful time for many families, Joanna Whitehead has rounded up a list of the things you can do before the change comes into force to save you some money.

[31 March 2022 19:00 · Emily Atkinson]

E.ON apologises after ‘blaming’ Martin Lewis for energy website crashes

Energy firm E.ON has apologised after it appeared to blame money saving expert Martin Lewis for suppliers’ websites crashing ahead of Friday’s price hikes.

In a statement, the energy giant said: “This was an ill-considered and off-the-cuff remark made by one of our energy specialists and in no way reflects our position.

“We have an excellent working relationship with Martin Lewis and his team, and we apologise for any offence caused. We ourselves have spent the past few weeks advising customers to submit accurate meter readings ahead of April 1.

“We are seeing unprecedented volumes of customer traffic to our website and app. While we work to resolve this, we can confirm to our customers that any meter readings they take today can be updated to their account online in the coming days. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Smart meter customers do not need to do anything as their readings will automatically be shared with us.”