More than 120 organisations have written to the chancellor calling for immediate action to remove what they describe as “hidden taxes” embedded in household and business energy bills. The signatories argue that levies, which they say currently represent around 10% of typical energy bills, should be funded directly from government budgets rather than passed on to consumers and firms.
The coalition behind the letter includes trade bodies and charities such as Energy UK, the Confederation of British Industry at CBI, campaign group End Fuel Poverty and charity Age UK. In the letter the organisations call on the Treasury to pick up the cost of the levies that currently finance a range of energy-related policies, saying the move would lower immediate bills and help protect businesses vulnerable to rising operating costs.
Signatories emphasise the timing of their request: Chancellor John Healey is due to present his first budget on 28 October, presenting an opportunity to reassign these charges from bills to public coffers. The groups say that doing so would provide relief to households facing persistent price pressures and reduce the risk of business closures in energy-intensive sectors, while calling for clarity on how any government-funded replacement would be structured.
The appeal adds to an ongoing public debate about how the costs of energy policy are distributed between consumers, businesses and the state. Proposals to shift levy costs onto government finances would alter public spending priorities and require clear decisions on funding sources and long-term policy design. As ministers prepare for the autumn budget, ministers and officials will need to weigh the immediate consumer relief sought by campaigners against broader fiscal implications and the stated objectives those levies were intended to support.