The Chancellor's Spring 2024 Budget, presented on 6 March 2024, extended the Windfall Tax on energy firms and the Household Support Fund, but only for limited periods, while other support measures ended on 31 March1. The Budget contained no new funding for energy efficiency support1.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the financial statement failed to meet in full any of the recommendations in its budget submission1. It said the Household Support Fund would be extended by only another six months, ending before next winter sets in, and that the Energy Price Guarantee and cost of living payments now join the Energy Bills Support Scheme on what it called a bonfire of policies that were helping people with surging energy bills1.
"While the energy firms Windfall Tax and the Household Support Fund were both extended for limited periods, other support measures end on the 31 March."
The coalition said the price households pay for their energy is still 60 per cent higher than in 2021 and that energy debt levels are soaring1. It also said economists estimate the Windfall Tax has shaved £18bn off the cost of extracting fossil fuels over the next three years by increasing energy firms' tax relief allowances, and that this loophole must be closed1. Warm This Winter said energy companies make a billion pounds in profit each and every week1.
On pensioner poverty, Joanna Elson CBE, chief executive of Independent Age, said cutting National Insurance would not help the more than 2 million older people living in poverty, and that up to 880,000 households missed out on support1. She said the UK Government reiterated its commitment to uprate Pension Credit, and called for a single energy social tariff and water social tariff1. Pensioner poverty has been steadily rising since 2012, she said1.
| Measure | Budget outcome |
|---|---|
| Windfall Tax on energy firms | Extended for a limited period1 |
| Household Support Fund | Extended for another 6 months, ending before next winter1 |
| Energy Price Guarantee | Ends 31 March1 |
| Cost of living payments | End 31 March1 |
| Energy efficiency funding | No new funding announced1 |
Why it matters for households
The Budget left the main forms of direct bill support with fixed end dates. The Energy Price Guarantee and cost of living payments stopped on 31 March, and the Household Support Fund runs only to a point before next winter1. For a household managing energy debt, that means the crisis funds and hardship grants route becomes the remaining short term option once those schemes close, and its duration is now time limited1.
No new money for energy efficiency means the case for reducing a home's exposure to prices rests on existing grants and schemes, including ECO4 and other grants, rather than on any new Budget provision1. The coalition's point is that bills remain 60 per cent above 2021 levels even as support is withdrawn, so the gap between what a household pays and what it can claim widens1. How far grants and efficiency measures shift a home towards energy independence is set out in the site's guide to that subject.
The Budget also touched the wider regulation and policy framework that governs household costs, including appliance efficiency rules and the Energy Saving Trust, though no changes to those were announced1.
What happens next
The Energy Price Guarantee and cost of living payments ended on 31 March 20241. The Household Support Fund extension runs for six months from that point, ending before next winter1. The Windfall Tax extension covers a limited period that the source does not specify1. No date has been reported for a decision on a single energy social tariff1.
Sources1 cited
- Reaction to Spring 2024 Budget, endfuelpoverty.org.uk