Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone has secured cross party support for
his letter to the Chancellor calling for a moratorium on VAT on
energy bills through the coronavirus crisis.
The letter comes in the wake of figures from Uswitch forecasting
that households could see bills increase as much as £195 as a
result of spending more time at home due to government
restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross said:
"Right across the UK people are desperately worried about how
they will make ends meet in the face of this crisis. Many already
find themselves out of work, on reduced pay or having to rely on
Universal Credit. Ensuring people using prepaid meters are not
cut off is a first step, but there are many who will need further
assistance.
"The very least the government can do is offer people a break
from VAT on energy bills - this would be a quick and effective
step which will immediately assist some of the poorest in our
society. It will at least partly alleviate the additional
financial pressure created by the need to stay at home."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer
We are writing to you about the possibility of introducing a VAT
moratorium on energy bills and products for the foreseeable
future.
We welcome your move to implement a VAT deferral for businesses
till 30 June 2020, but wonder if something similar could be done
for all energy customers. Given that most of us are spending a
lot more time at home self-isolating, there is no doubt that our
energy bills will dramatically increase. Uswitch estimate that
self-isolating could mean an extra £195 a year for individuals on
poor-value deals. For many people in the UK, some of whom are
hard hit by fuel poverty, a VAT moratorium on electricity bills
would be a huge help in the weeks and months ahead.
You have already helped more than four million people on
prepayment meters by ensuring suppliers offer them funding
support if they cannot top up their meters. As more and more
people now self-isolate, it is important that we extend this kind
of help, especially to those on the poverty line. I am concerned
that it is the poorest in our society who will struggle most with
self-isolating if their bills drastically increase because they
must be at home.
Many of those with low-income jobs have been made redundant and
will struggle to find alternative employment as the crisis
worsens, making it harder to pay energy bills – and that’s
without those bills being on the increase.
A VAT moratorium would be the most simple way of negating the
inevitable increase in energy bills whilst we self-isolate to
avoid spreading the virus. We hope you will consider our
suggestion. Thank you once again for working so collaboratively
to help us all combat this crisis.
Yours sincerely,
MP
MP
Drew Henry MP
Graeme Morris MP
MP
MP
