A DESNZ CLEAN SWEEP A package that saved at least £150 off the average household bill was the minimum this Budget needed to achieve to give Labour at least a fighting chance of getting to their £300 target, given the price rises next year. /1

energy bill discounts doing the heavy lifting on bringing down inflation next year

Big news on Fuel Duty - the 5p cut will be removed gradually from September. A good way to end this giveaway without pushing up inflation

So that's £125-ish off energy bills - ECO scrapped and 75% of renewables obligation costs moved into the tax system. Big enough to offset bill increases coming next year, and most (~70%) of the savings coming from electricity bills instead of gas. Overall pretty good.

It's *possible* the Budget could be very green: 🟢 Focus all price cuts on electricity, not gas 🟢 Don't cancel Fuel Duty rises 🟢 Cushion future EV VED rise with public charger VAT cut & other support 🟢 Expand emissions pricing to long-haul flights & international shipping 🟢 Help lower interest rates

In 'Splitting the bill' we found that if the Government removed some policy costs from electricity bills, it could save the average family £160, while pushing down on inflation. Read here 👉 buff.ly/z69JDpL

The Government is reportedly drawing up plans to overhaul car taxation in the upcoming Budget. This is welcome and long overdue – transport taxes have failed to keep up with the switch from Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) to Electric Vehicles (EVs). 🧵 buff.ly/nGl374z

This sounds promising: grappling with a big long-term tax issue. Though the suggested scale would be similar to the £200 EV VED rise that happened this April. And if the VAT 'pavement tax' were abolished at the same time, that might offset most of this cost for drivers without home chargers.

Through successive governments a shadow tax and benefits system has emerged in energy bills worth £7bn. New report out today says government should fix this system, and reduce energy bills for households. www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/...

💡💡💡 New @resfoundation.bsky.social note out today on cutting energy bills – and how paying for some costs on bills differently will see the poorest households more than £100 per year better off 💡💡💡 1/ www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

The Government has allocated £13 billion to the Warm Homes Plan. But what should it do with the money? Priority should be given to the poorest households who spend twice as much of their family budgets on energy bills as the richest households. Read more👉 buff.ly/PGjbi38

Interesting energy consumption stats out today - electric cars and domestic heat pumps now account for more than 5% of total electricity use www.gov.uk/government/s...

If govt wants lower bills, especially for lower income households, it needs to pay for it through tax rises right now. Fiddling around with standing charges is deck chair rearrangement - and people who end up with higher bills will make more noise than those who get a cut from this.

Lower standing charges aren’t the answer to high energy bills: a tariff with a 50% cut in standing charges would only see one in six families save more than £100 on energy bills – 43 per cent would see bills increase

Most of this change in energy bills being driven by an increase in standing charges, which are up for both gas and for electricity into Q4

How should the Government prioritise its £13 billion Warm Homes Plan budget? Priority should be given to the poorest households who spend twice as much of family budgets on energy bills as the richest households. Read more: buff.ly/PGjbi38

Great to see Guardian cover our research today - it's flats and smaller houses that are most at risk of overheating, so should be no surprise that vulnerable families will be more at risk. Important to think about cooling homes as well as warming them!

⚡⚡ New @resfoundation.bsky.social note out today looking at how the Government should prioritise its £13 billion Warm Homes Plan budget ⚡⚡ www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

Good to see the flexibility roadmap out today. Flex is key to a cheaper energy system, so great that Gov is committed to this. Especially big savings coming for those with big techs like EVs and heat pumps. www.gov.uk/government/p...

Shame to see rising block tariffs suggested. A bad idea for poorer families that use lots of energy, but also not great for incentivising people to consume more electricity in electric cars or heat pumps

The challenge of energy affordability is very real, but rising block tariffs aren’t the answer. People on low incomes with poorly insulated homes or who need more energy for health reasons could see rising bills, while those with multiple homes or can install solar panels avoid paying a fair share

@resfoundation.bsky.social colleagues noted last year that extending Winter Fuel Payments to pensioners on Housing Benefit would target low incomes at a cost of £100m (& a HB - Pension Credit merger is planned longer-term). Another £200m could extend WFPs to those on Attendance Allowance, DLA & PIP

Higher energy bills driving today's inflation figures, with changes in fuel costs behind nearly 90% of the year-on-year increase. Policies that pay for environmental and social schemes (among other things) up a bit too but nowhere near as much

🚨 🚨 🚨 New @resfoundation.bsky.social research out today on decarbonising home heating, looking at what shape policy should take so that poorer households can be more involved 🧵 www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

New @resfoundation.bsky.social research out this morning from @emilyfry.bsky.social, @camronaref.bsky.social and I which uses the first ever comprehensive analysis of public service use across the income distribution to show how we can make public services better for low-to-middle income families.

The roll-out of heat pumps as part of the net zero transition has been slow. Join us tomorrow to discuss how policy can encourage greater take-up, and ensure ongoing cash savings for consumers. Sign-up now ➡️ buff.ly/X41yJC6

It's also widely reported that poorer places are being left behind when it comes to public EV chargers But when we look at on-street chargers (the most important type for widespread EV uptake) we can see that this just isn't true

It’s freezing cold again, meaning real stress for most vulnerable trying to keep warm at home 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Right, standing charges…

Lots to unpack here. Lets give it a go. 🧵

This chart shows the difference in pedestrian casualties between the least and most deprived deciles is most substantial for those aged 0 to 16. In other words: children from the most deprived neighbourhoods are exposed to far greater road danger than their peers in less deprived areas.

A thread on why the Government shouldn’t relax its targets on electric car sales

Delighted that Ruth Curtice will be the next Chief Executive of @resfoundation.bsky.social. Ruth is a great talent who will thrive at RF. I’ll leave knowing we have a brilliant leader to take the organisation and its wonderful team into a new era. www.resolutionfoundation.org/press-releas...

Hello and welcome to all our new followers 👋 To ensure you're getting all the best analysis and insights, we've made a starter pack of all our staff on Bluesky. Make sure to give them a follow too ⤵️ go.bsky.app/5Anuz76

Some questions ministers might want to ask car bosses today as they meet to discuss EV sales targets www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...