The idea has been drawn up by the Ministry of Finance as they try to reduce the painful cost of living that is plaguing the country. 2 Britons could get money off their energy bills by getting a PRESCRIPTION from GPCredit: Getty – Contributor It comes as experts warned the energy price cap could TRIPLE to £6,000 next April. It is currently £1,971. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has instructed boffins to come up with a series of plans to help Britons with their skyrocketing energy bills. But it will be up to the next PM – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – to decide what extra help to give. Under a radical option, needy Britons would be told to go to their GP if they needed help heating their homes. Their doctor would chat with the patient and verify that they needed help – either because they were sick, old, or just in need. The GP would then write a prescription saying the person should take money out of their accounts. This could be paid in cash through the local council or in the form of a voucher for gas and electricity. Treasury officials are preparing for GPs to launch the strange idea. But they have drawn up the plan because they believe it could appeal to the needy while being more flexible than some of the alternatives, such as increasing benefits. They are trying to come up with a plan that is not universal, as they do not want to hand out sums of money to the super rich. A Whitehall source said: “There is no world in which the government wants to let bad things happen to people. “They want to make sure people have enough support to keep the lights on and the heat on.” But a senior Tory MP floated the idea. They told the Sun: “This is an idea from another world. It won’t work. “You can’t even get a doctor’s appointment now. Add that to their workload and the system will topple. “And do GPs have to be there to make money?” 2 Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has ordered boffins to draw up a series of plans to help Britons with skyrocketing energy billsCredit: PA Treasury officials are working on a range of energy rescue options – short of nationalization. Another proposal is to reduce the energy price cap by around £400, removing one of the charges companies charge consumers. No11 also wants to reduce the cost of bills by separating the price of natural gas from the price of electricity. Currently, gas prices – very high due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – determine all energy prices including electricity. This increases the bills massively. While there are various options for emergency support ahead of winter, ministers are also working on plans to strengthen our energy security. Government employees are privately warning that if the war in Ukraine drags on for years then it may prove impossible to keep writing multi-billion pound bailout cheques. Mr Zahawi has instructed his officials to ramp up work on fracking, hydrogen and nuclear power so that we are less dependent on foreign imports.
