Families are looking ahead to a bleak winter as experts predict the cap on energy bills will hit close to £3,600 a year from October – before rising again in April next year. Rising prices mean people will have to choose between skipping meals to heat their homes or living in poor conditions, the NHS Confederation said in a letter to ministers. This will inevitably lead to more people getting sick and seeing their health deteriorate. The body, which represents NHS leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, also warned that rising poverty rates would lead to increased hospital admissions as well as a huge increase in demand on other parts of the NHS, putting frontline services and staff under “unbearable pressure”. “If people cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and if they cannot afford nutritious food, then their health will deteriorate rapidly,” the health chiefs wrote. “This will increase the already high number of annual deaths associated with cold homes – estimated at around 10,000 per year. “As leaders in the health sector, we are clear that unless urgent action is taken by the Government, this will leave an indelible scar on local communities and cause a public health emergency.” The regulator is set to announce the new price cap, which will come into effect from October, on August 26. Bills are expected to reach around £3,582 a year for the average household from October – up from £3,359 forecast earlier this month, according to the latest forecast by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. This compares with a price peak last October of £1,277. From January, the figure is expected to reach £4,266 before continuing to rise in April to £4,427. The previous forecast was for £3,729 in April. Read more Rising price pressure ‘ticking time bomb’ for poorer communities Government ‘asleep at the wheel’ as Ofgem chief quits over energy price cap change The cap, which is controlled by energy regulator Ofgem, currently leaves the average household paying £1,971 a year – a record amount that largely reflects high demand for oil and gas as economies restarted after the restrictions of COVID. Most of these projected increases are linked to wholesale natural gas prices, which have once again gone through the roof in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Labor and the Lib Dems have proposed plans to freeze bills at the current level, while many of the biggest energy suppliers have backed a similar idea. However, the government has made it clear that it will not do anything substantive until a new prime minister takes office on September 5. The two candidates in the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – Liz Truss and Russi Sunak – have come under pressure to draw up detailed plans to cut bills. The trade body for energy companies called on Thursday for more support beyond the £400 promised to households in May. “There is very little time before October and we know many customers are already struggling after the latest price rise – so the predicted increases will simply be out of reach for millions of households,” said Dhara Vyas, director of advocacy at Energy UK. “Given the urgency, our industry believes the most practical way to help customers in the run-up to Christmas will be to increase the amount of support provided through our existing account support program.”

title: “Cost Of Living Uk Faces Public Health Emergency If No Action On Energy Bills Nhs Chiefs Warn Uk News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-03” author: “Adam Longbrake”

Families are looking ahead to a bleak winter as experts predict the cap on energy bills will hit close to £3,600 a year from October – before rising again in April next year. Rising prices mean people will have to choose between skipping meals to heat their homes or living in poor conditions, the NHS Confederation said in a letter to ministers. This will inevitably lead to more people getting sick and seeing their health deteriorate. The body, which represents NHS leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, also warned that rising poverty rates would lead to increased hospital admissions as well as a huge increase in demand on other parts of the NHS, putting frontline services and staff under “unbearable pressure”. “If people cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and if they cannot afford nutritious food, then their health will deteriorate rapidly,” the health chiefs wrote. “This will increase the already high number of annual deaths associated with cold homes – estimated at around 10,000 per year. “As leaders in the health sector, we are clear that unless urgent action is taken by the Government, this will leave an indelible scar on local communities and cause a public health emergency.” The regulator is set to announce the new price cap, which will come into effect from October, on August 26. Bills are expected to reach around £3,582 a year for the average household from October – up from £3,359 forecast earlier this month, according to the latest forecast by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. This compares with a price peak last October of £1,277. From January, the figure is expected to reach £4,266 before continuing to rise in April to £4,427. The previous forecast was for £3,729 in April. Read more Rising price pressure ‘ticking time bomb’ for poorer communities Government ‘asleep at the wheel’ as Ofgem chief quits over energy price cap change The cap, which is controlled by energy regulator Ofgem, currently leaves the average household paying £1,971 a year – a record amount that largely reflects high demand for oil and gas as economies restarted after the restrictions of COVID. Most of these projected increases are linked to wholesale natural gas prices, which have once again gone through the roof in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Labor and the Lib Dems have proposed plans to freeze bills at the current level, while many of the biggest energy suppliers have backed a similar idea. However, the government has made it clear that it will not do anything substantive until a new prime minister takes office on September 5. The two candidates in the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – Liz Truss and Russi Sunak – have come under pressure to draw up detailed plans to cut bills. The trade body for energy companies called on Thursday for more support beyond the £400 promised to households in May. “There is very little time before October and we know many customers are already struggling after the latest price rise – so the predicted increases will simply be out of reach for millions of households,” said Dhara Vyas, director of advocacy at Energy UK. “Given the urgency, our industry believes the most practical way to help customers in the run-up to Christmas will be to increase the amount of support provided through our existing account support program.”

title: “Cost Of Living Uk Faces Public Health Emergency If No Action On Energy Bills Nhs Chiefs Warn Uk News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Peter Hattley”

Families are looking ahead to a bleak winter as experts predict the cap on energy bills will hit close to £3,600 a year from October – before rising again in April next year. Rising prices mean people will have to choose between skipping meals to heat their homes or living in poor conditions, the NHS Confederation said in a letter to ministers. This will inevitably lead to more people getting sick and seeing their health deteriorate. The body, which represents NHS leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, also warned that rising poverty rates would lead to increased hospital admissions as well as a huge increase in demand on other parts of the NHS, putting frontline services and staff under “unbearable pressure”. “If people cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and if they cannot afford nutritious food, then their health will deteriorate rapidly,” the health chiefs wrote. “This will increase the already high number of annual deaths associated with cold homes – estimated at around 10,000 per year. “As leaders in the health sector, we are clear that unless urgent action is taken by the Government, this will leave an indelible scar on local communities and cause a public health emergency.” The regulator is set to announce the new price cap, which will come into effect from October, on August 26. Bills are expected to reach around £3,582 a year for the average household from October – up from £3,359 forecast earlier this month, according to the latest forecast by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. This compares with a price peak last October of £1,277. From January, the figure is expected to reach £4,266 before continuing to rise in April to £4,427. The previous forecast was for £3,729 in April. Read more Rising price pressure ‘ticking time bomb’ for poorer communities Government ‘asleep at the wheel’ as Ofgem chief quits over energy price cap change The cap, which is controlled by energy regulator Ofgem, currently leaves the average household paying £1,971 a year – a record amount that largely reflects high demand for oil and gas as economies restarted after the restrictions of COVID. Most of these projected increases are linked to wholesale natural gas prices, which have once again gone through the roof in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Labor and the Lib Dems have proposed plans to freeze bills at the current level, while many of the biggest energy suppliers have backed a similar idea. However, the government has made it clear that it will not do anything substantive until a new prime minister takes office on September 5. The two candidates in the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – Liz Truss and Russi Sunak – have come under pressure to draw up detailed plans to cut bills. The trade body for energy companies called on Thursday for more support beyond the £400 promised to households in May. “There is very little time before October and we know many customers are already struggling after the latest price rise – so the predicted increases will simply be out of reach for millions of households,” said Dhara Vyas, director of advocacy at Energy UK. “Given the urgency, our industry believes the most practical way to help customers in the run-up to Christmas will be to increase the amount of support provided through our existing account support program.”

title: “Cost Of Living Uk Faces Public Health Emergency If No Action On Energy Bills Nhs Chiefs Warn Uk News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-03” author: “Jose Gagnon”

Families are looking ahead to a bleak winter as experts predict the cap on energy bills will hit close to £3,600 a year from October – before rising again in April next year. Rising prices mean people will have to choose between skipping meals to heat their homes or living in poor conditions, the NHS Confederation said in a letter to ministers. This will inevitably lead to more people getting sick and seeing their health deteriorate. The body, which represents NHS leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, also warned that rising poverty rates would lead to increased hospital admissions as well as a huge increase in demand on other parts of the NHS, putting frontline services and staff under “unbearable pressure”. “If people cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and if they cannot afford nutritious food, then their health will deteriorate rapidly,” the health chiefs wrote. “This will increase the already high number of annual deaths associated with cold homes – estimated at around 10,000 per year. “As leaders in the health sector, we are clear that unless urgent action is taken by the Government, this will leave an indelible scar on local communities and cause a public health emergency.” The regulator is set to announce the new price cap, which will come into effect from October, on August 26. Bills are expected to reach around £3,582 a year for the average household from October – up from £3,359 forecast earlier this month, according to the latest forecast by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. This compares with a price peak last October of £1,277. From January, the figure is expected to reach £4,266 before continuing to rise in April to £4,427. The previous forecast was for £3,729 in April. Read more Rising price pressure ‘ticking time bomb’ for poorer communities Government ‘asleep at the wheel’ as Ofgem chief quits over energy price cap change The cap, which is controlled by energy regulator Ofgem, currently leaves the average household paying £1,971 a year – a record amount that largely reflects high demand for oil and gas as economies restarted after the restrictions of COVID. Most of these projected increases are linked to wholesale natural gas prices, which have once again gone through the roof in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Labor and the Lib Dems have proposed plans to freeze bills at the current level, while many of the biggest energy suppliers have backed a similar idea. However, the government has made it clear that it will not do anything substantive until a new prime minister takes office on September 5. The two candidates in the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – Liz Truss and Russi Sunak – have come under pressure to draw up detailed plans to cut bills. The trade body for energy companies called on Thursday for more support beyond the £400 promised to households in May. “There is very little time before October and we know many customers are already struggling after the latest price rise – so the predicted increases will simply be out of reach for millions of households,” said Dhara Vyas, director of advocacy at Energy UK. “Given the urgency, our industry believes the most practical way to help customers in the run-up to Christmas will be to increase the amount of support provided through our existing account support program.”