How will John Healey’s energy support package affect you?

Chancellor’s ‘new course’ includes a £100 one-off payment, low-carbon upgrade loans and an end to standing charges

John Healey has unveiled a package of support for households being buffeted by “global economic storms”.

“I’m setting a new course to get energy costs down in line with Europe,” the chancellor said in his maiden budget. In the long term, he hopes that changes in how Britain covers the cost of renewables and grid upgrades will “drive down all aspects of energy bills”.

British households face some of the highest energy charges for three years, with the war in the Middle East driving up oil and gas prices.

Under the government’s price cap, average dual-fuel bills are £1,700 a year and could rise to more than £2,100 a year from January, according to industry forecasts.

So what has the chancellor offered hard-pressed households to help them through the coldest months of the year? And will it be enough to lower gas and electricity bills?