Millions to get energy bill rebates of up to £350

Millions of households will receive energy bill rebates totalling £350 to ease the impact of rising energy bills, the chancellor has said.

Rishi Sunak announced a £200 rebate for all households in England, Wales and Scotland from October.

There will also be a further £150 council tax rebate for about 80% of homes in England.

It comes after the energy regulator Ofgem said bills would rise by an extra £693 a year from April.

Mr Sunak said "even those on middle incomes will feel the pinch".

The council tax rebate will apply to homes in council tax bands A to D in England and will be made directly by local authorities from April. It will not need to be repaid.

The rebate on energy bills will provide around 28 million households with an upfront discount on their bills worth £200 and suppliers will apply the discount to domestic electricity customers from October, with the government meeting the costs.

However, unlike the council tax rebate, this discount will be automatically recovered from people's bills in equal £40 instalments over a five year period from 2023, when it is hoped global wholesale gas prices will have come down.

Mr Sunak told the BBC the support would help the majority of families to "adjust" to higher prices.