LONDON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- British Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey on Wednesday announced measures to reduce the costs of energy for households in the 2026 Budget to help families ease cost of living pressures.
The government will introduce a scheme worth 2.6 billion pounds (about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars) to take the energy pressure off for families this winter. Some 100 pounds (about 133 dollars) will be paid directly into the bank accounts of each of the 20 million qualified households, Healey said in his budget statement in the House of Commons.
He also announced the measure of extending the value-added-tax cut on electricity bills to July 2027.
Earlier Wednesday, Healey abolished standing charges on household gas bills, a fixed daily fee added on top of a household gas bill regardless of how much gas has been used, according to a statement on the government's official website.
Instead, these fixed costs will be paid on the unit rate, which could save 60 percent of account-holding households around an average of 45 pounds (about 60 dollars) off their annual bill, it said. ■