PM says he is 'looking' at taking standing charges off gas bills - but refuses to give details amid fears some people would end up worse off

Andy Burnham declared he is 'looking at' stripping standing charges off gas bills today. At PMQs, Mr Burnham said he had asked the Chancellor and Net Zero Secretary to consider whether the levies - typically around £100 a year - could be removed. However, the premier did not offer any more detail, and Downing Street refused to give a timetable for when it might happen. Energy bills have been soaring and are due to rise again in January thanks to the Middle East crisis. Previous proposals, including from industry body Energy UK, have mooted simply adding the costs to the unit charge for gas. That would mean higher-use households potentially being worse off. Campaigners including Martin Lewis have complained that standing charges currently hit those with low consumption, such as the elderly living alone, as they pay even when not using gas. The surprise intervention came as Kemi Badenoch welcomed the move to sign off the Jackdaw gas project in the North Sea, despite a backlash from the Labour Left and Greens. At PMQs, Andy Burnham said he had asked the Chancellor and Net Zero Secretary to consider whether standing charges on gas bills - typically around £100 a year - could be removed Standing charges vary across the country, but are typically around 30p a day for gas But the Tory leader said ministers had 'dithered' for two years over whether to go ahead, insisting if the decision had been taken earlier gas would be heating UK homes this winter. She demanded Labour repeals its ban on all new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. 'We have the resources, the expertise and the people,' Mrs Badenoch said. 'What we have lost is the confidence to make tough decisions'. Mr Burnham said the Tory government had 'messed up'. 'That's why there was the delay, because they didn't do the process properly,' he said. 'And we've made a pragmatic decision, Mr Speaker, that will allow us to do two things. 'Firstly, build a bridge to a renewable future because the resources that come in now from this decision will allow us to invest in renewables, bring forward clean energy and in this Parliament, substantially de-link gas and electricity prices so that we can bring bills down. 'It will also allow us, Mr Speaker, to do more to help people with bills. I can tell the House today that I have asked the Chancellor and the Energy Secretary (Miatta Fahnbulleh) to look at whether we can remove standing charges from gas bills and to report back to this House at the earliest opportunity.' Standing charges vary across the country, but are typically around 30p a day for gas. A 4 per cent hike to Ofgem's energy price cap took effect from October 1 as forecasters warned household bills could soar by almost another £300 from January. Cornwall Insight's latest forecast predicts the price cap will rise by a further 16% to £1,999 a year on January 1, up by £276 on the level between October and December and the biggest rise since January 2023. In an effort to help households, the Government has temporarily removed the 5% VAT from electricity bills until March 31 next year to cut around £45 a year. Households are still paying 5 per cent VAT for gas. Last week, Ofgem's new chief executive Tim Jarvis warned of a 'difficult' winter ahead as he raised concerns that 'people are going to struggle' without help. Speaking at the Energy UK conference in London, he said: 'We can all see what's happening to wholesale prices as a result of what's going on in the Middle East, and we've seen the predictions for January. 'It's going to be a difficult winter.' Campaigners have urged the Government to make plans now to support all households with energy costs this winter because of the severity of forecast bill hikes. The Jackdaw project was approved by the previous Conservative government in 2022 but was delayed after a legal challenge by Greenpeace, leaving Labour ministers to decide whether drilling should go ahead. They insist a manifesto pledge against new developments does not apply, as the site was already earmarked. It is expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6 per cent at its peak, safeguard hundreds of jobs and provide an estimated £2.9billion economic boost. Tax revenues from North Sea oil and gas will also be funnelled into a new energy wealth fund, backed with an initial £2billion, which will be used to invest in renewable and low carbon projects. The surprise intervention came as Kemi Badenoch welcomed the move to sign off the Jackdaw gas project in the North Sea, despite a backlash from the Labour Left and Greens Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh accepted this morning that the development would contribute towards climate change, and said it would not bring down gas prices. But she stressed it is 'much better' to use domestically produced gas than import it. The Cabinet minister also appeared to hint that a second project at Rosebank might not be greenlit, suggesting that oil was less relevant to domestic energy issues. There are claims that some Labour MPs are staying quiet on Jackdaw in the hopes of winning the argument on Rosebank and other Net Zero debates.