Burnham looking at 'range of support' for families facing another bills hike this winter, says Energy Secretary - but help might only go to 'vulnerable' households and how will PM pay for it?

Andy Burnham is looking at a 'range of support' for families facing another bills hike this winter, the Energy Secretary has said.Miatta Fahnbulleh acknowledged that struggling Brits 'need more help' but suggested it might only go to 'vulnerable households'.It comes ahead of energy regulator Ofgem on Wednesday revealing the level of the annual energy price cap for the three months from October to December.Typical households using gas and electricity are expected to see their bills rise by another 4 per cent to the equivalent of £1,729 a year, as the Iran war continues to drive up wholesale energy prices.It means households energy bills are set to climb to the highest level for three years heading into winter, despite the Prime Minister's plan to remove VAT from electricity bills from October. Mr Burnham is already facing questions over how he will pay for that VAT cut for electricity bills, with critics having attacked his plans as 'unfunded'.Ahead of the Budget on 28 October, the PM this week admitted he 'won't be unrealistic' about the state of the public finances as he refused to rule out further Labour tax hikes.He said the public needs to understand that 'we are in a challenging position' when pressed on how he was going to fund his spending commitments. Andy Burnham is looking at a 'range of support' for families facing another bills hike this winter, the Energy Secretary has said. Miatta Fahnbulleh acknowledged that struggling Brits 'need more help' but suggested it might only go to 'vulnerable households'. Ms Fahnbulleh on Tuesday said she understood 'why people are worried and frustrated about energy bills', and that Mr Burnham's Government is 'doing everything we can to make them more affordable'.The Peckham MP indicated households most in need could be in line for more support when she was asked during an 'ask me anything' session on the Reddit online network whether she believed the existing £150 warm home discount is enough.She replied: 'I know in Peckham that our warm home discount will assist nearly a third of households. It's a start, but I also know that households struggling need more help.'That is why we are looking at a range of support for vulnerable households that are under pressure. From long-term targeted bill support through to upgrading millions of homes with measures that can save over £500 on bills.'Ms Fahnbulleh also suggested there could be changes to the fixed charge on bills paid every day regardless of energy usage.She said: 'I know for lots of people, standing charges are a real bugbear. The reality is that they cover fixed costs that we have to pay to keep the energy system running.'We understand that for some, this is too expensive. But removing those costs would simply increase prices elsewhere on the bill, so we are working closely with Ofgem to look into how these fixed costs could be recovered in the fairest way.'Urged to remove all policy costs from bills, Ms Fahnbulleh said the Labour Government had 'started' doing so, including by ditching an energy efficiency programme which was paid for through levies on bills.She said: 'These policy costs fund important things like supporting vulnerable consumers with the costs of their bills and upgrading the energy system so that we can lower bills.'We have already started doing this and did so at the budget, where we took a load of policy costs off of bills. We'll keep looking at how these costs are recovered in the fairest way.'Mr Burnham's pledge to cut VAT from household electricity bills, which he predicted would knock around £45 off the annual Ofgem price cap from October, will be more than offset by the recent swing in global energy prices.He has promised to pay for the VAT cut by savings from the cancellation of the digital ID programme, which was going to cost £1.8billion over the next three years.But critics said the digital ID scheme itself had been 'unfunded', meaning there is a huge hole in Mr Burnham's spending plans.Ms Fahnbulleh said: 'I completely understand why people are worried and frustrated about energy bills and we are doing everything we can to make them more affordable.'As a start, we removed VAT from electricity bills to give everyone some breathing space. This is on top of the £150 we removed from energy bills in the budget in April.'We are providing extra support for six million families under pressure with our £150 warm home discount.'But we know there is more to do and we are getting on with the job of driving bills down.'Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: 'The Energy Secretary is right that households need more help. Volatile gas prices are driving the next increase in energy bills and these are set by what global markets determine.'When the new price cap is announced, every unit of gas is likely to come in at 26% per cent higher than last year and more than 150 per cent higher than in winter 2020. This will force households to spend more on the same amount of energy, or cut back even more on their energy use.'The Government has made a start by cutting VAT on electricity and extending the warm home discount last year, but ministers must go further and faster.'That means funding a proper energy debt relief scheme before winter and getting insulation and heat pumps into the homes that need them most.'But while millions of households suffer, a handful of energy firms have banked more than £6billion in UK profits this year alone. Billpayers are being asked to pay more, while billionaires count the profits.'