Minister confirms support package may be offered as energy prices forecast to rise in July – UK politics live

Government willing to help some consumers with energy costs as experts predict price cap to rise by £288

Back to energy, and today the Common Wealth thinktank has published a report saying consumers would benefit from replacing the current energy supply model with a system of regional energy boards. The thinktank, which focuses on the case for public ownership, argues that energy privatisation, and encouraging people to choose between competing suppliers, has not worked.

The report says:

Having a “contestable” retail energy market means that people choose which company supplies them with electricity and gas. We can each switch our energy supplier within five days. In this report, we show that this market is not doing what it is supposed to do — the assumptions about how people would behave in the market were wrong and that structural change is needed. A move to a non-contestable model, where all homes and small businesses in each region have the same, would deliver five benefits: a fairer and more flexible system that can support long-term energy efficiency upgrades to the fabric of our homes. The transition to regional energy boards can be done fast, because retail energy supply companies are asset light and currently have low market value. The transition to Regional Energy Board can be done first, before deeper public interventions in other parts of the system.

Bold energy system reform is more urgent than ever. That means grasping the nettle of a consumer market that is letting households down. A regional energy board model is a tried and tested way to reduce bills and encourage clean energy tech adoption – while supporting consumer flex and innovation. Now is the time to go big on behalf of the British billpayer.

Under current rules, police forces are expected to look into acts which appear to be motivated by hostility towards people with certain characteristics including race, religion, disability or gender, that fall short of being crimes.

Unclear guidance has led to officers being called to people’s homes over “insults and routine arguments”, the government said.