Treasury says gas standing charges will be scrapped next year
The Treasury says gas standing charges will be scrapped from next year, saving about £45 a year for 60% of households, though charities warn some vulnerable people could be worse off.
How it was covered
- ITV carried 59% of the airtime and concentrated on Martin Lewis on standing charge reform and likely support package.
- BBC News concentrated on Fairness questions over reviewing gas standing charges.
- BBC One, Sky News, Channel 5 and BBC Two: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- GB News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
The Treasury has announced that standing charges on gas bills will be scrapped from next year, according to Channel 4. The change means that the less gas a household uses, the less it will pay.
Channel 4 reported that the government says 60% of households should save around £45 a year. Charities warned that some vulnerable people who struggle to heat draughty homes could end up worse off. Channel 4 also reported that the Chancellor was due to set out the full Budget at 12.30 that day.
The proposal had been raised at Prime Minister's Questions on 21 October. ITV's Peston reported that the Prime Minister said the government would look at standing charges and was considering scrapping them. At that stage, BBC News's Newscast said the government would go into a review, while asking whether a fairer system would replace the fixed charge with a percentage of the gas used, fund network costs from energy company profits, or extend relief to people with all-electric heating.
On ITV, Martin Lewis said he had campaigned against standing charges for at least five years. He called them a poll tax on energy usage that discouraged lower users from cutting their bills. He said total standing charges were £310 this year, with gas accounting for £110 of that total. He also warned that the price cap looked set to rise by 26% or 27% in January and suggested doubling the warm home discount alongside the gas standing charge change.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| At PMQs, the government said it was looking at scrapping gas standing charges, which the Prime Minister called unfair, and described this as the start of a process. | Not reported by Channel 4 | ||
| Only on one channel | |||
| BBC News queried replacing the fixed gas charge with a percentage-of-usage charge. | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV |
| Charities warned that some vulnerable people in poorly insulated homes could be worse off. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | |
| Gas standing charges account for £110 of a £310 annual total this year. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Lewis is expected to make an announcement next week. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Martin Lewis suggested doubling the warm home discount to help vulnerable households. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV |
| Questions were raised over whether the change should also cover all-electric heating. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| The government estimated that 60% of households would save about £45 a year. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | |
| The January price cap is expected to rise by 26% to 27%. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| The Treasury announced that gas standing charges would be scrapped from next year. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1's Peston treated the story as a consumer billing reform, with Martin Lewis as the expert guest. It focused on the mechanics of standing charges, who might lose from moving costs to unit rates, and how a support package could accompany the change before January's price cap rise.
- “I've campaigned against standing charges at such a rate for at least five years now”
- “It's a poll tax on energy usage. It's a moral hazard that disincentivizes people to cut their bills, especially lower users.”
- “it looks like the price cap is going up 26%, 27%, enormously in January.”
BBC News's Newscast framed the move as a consumer cost-of-living intervention before the Budget, then pressed on what 'fair' would mean. It noted the difference between a review and action, and asked whether the change should cover all-electric heating or be funded from energy company profits.
- “they're gonna they're gonna go into a review they're gonna give it a look”
- “fair to take this money off people's gas bills but not do the same for people who have all electric heating”
- “trying to win a if you like a a consumer argument a cost of living argument”
Channel 4's news summary led with the Treasury's confirmed decision and the household savings figure. It balanced the government's claim that 60% of households would save around £45 a year against charity warnings that some vulnerable people in draughty homes could be worse off, then pointed to the full Budget at 12.30.
- “Standing charges on gas bills will be scrapped from next year, the Treasury has announced.”
- “The government says 60% of households should save around £45 a year”
- “charities have warned that some vulnerable people who struggle to heat their draughty homes could end up worse off.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.