UK eyes ‘targeted’ support for households amid rising energy costs

The British Government is looking to provide “targeted” support for ⁠poorer households to offset the impact of ⁠surging energy costs due to the conflict ⁠in the Middle East, finance minister Rachel Reeves has said.In an interview published on Saturday, Reeves told The Times newspaper the government was looking at options to help those vulnerable to sharp rises in energy prices, especially those who relied on heating oil, but ruled out universal help for all households, saying it would be unaffordable.The Labour ‌government, trailing in the polls to the populist Reform UK party, has come under pressure from opponents to cap regulated household energy tariffs – due for review in late May – and to scrap a planned rise in vehicle fuel duty in September.Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves walks outside 11 Downing Street on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters“I have found the money and we’ve worked through with MPs [lawmakers] and others a response for people who are not protected by the energy price cap. We’re giving greater support to those who really need it,” she said of ⁠the plan to help households who relied on heating oil.More than a million households in Britain use oil for heating, particularly in rural ‌areas where connection to the gas grid is not available. The highest concentration is in Northern Ireland, where almost half of households rely solely on the fuel.Heating oil ‌is not covered by the government’s energy price caps, leaving those consumers more exposed to global swings in oil ⁠prices. Reeves told The Times ⁠the Treasury was modelling different scenarios depending on how long the Iran conflict lasted, including “more targeted options” of support.“I am concerned given how high our debt is, ‌the debt that we inherited, and so I want to look at what the different options available would be,” she said.