Alex Belsham-Harrris

Text reads: "These commitments mark a vital turning point. We hope the Government continues in this direction, as there's still more to do to ensure every household can live a life free from poverty."

"Scrapping the two-child limit and addressing high energy bills will prevent hundreds of thousands of children from growing up in poverty and help households across the country keep the lights on."

Our CEO responds to today's Autumn Budget ⤵️
https://bit.ly/4pDEOzb

While cutting ECO could disrupt delivery of home upgrades, the scheme has struggled and it’s good to see the cuts partially offset by more funding for the Warm Homes Plan, with budget docs hinting that it could include more action to reduce electricity prices 2/2

Great to see energy bills cut by average £150 in the budget - with the focus rightly on tackling the disproportionate cost of electricity. This should make it easier for people to benefit from clean power, and support people on electric heating, who are often in the deepest fuel poverty 1/2

Whatever else this government do (and there's plenty of issues with this budget) ministers will always be able to point to this as an incredible important contribution to the country's future. Almost half a million kids taken out of poverty.

Line graph shows the electricity to gas price ratio in GB since 2019. It was very high before the energy crisis, then fell (due to higher gas prices) and was flat since until jumping sharply in the new price cap period

There’s some very bad news hidden in the Ofgem price cap for January announced yesterday: the electricity to gas price ratio has jumped to 4.67, its highest level since before the energy crisis.

This is a big barrier to households adopting heat pumps in Britain, and threatens our climate goals

Completely agree - plus we don’t all use gas. You could remove VAT from other heating sources too, but would much harder to ensure that would actually be passed through

⚡ First findings are in:

🚗 1 in 5 new cars sold is electric
🌞 1.8M homes have solar - on track for 9M by 2030
💬 Just 3% of EV owners would go back to petrol/diesel
🔥 Heat pumps? Still way off target - 59k installed vs 600k/yr goal

Is removing VAT really the best way to cut energy bills? Targeting electricity bills, subsidising bill-funded schemes, or a one-off debt forgiveness program offer more effective, fair, and sustainable solutions

Is removing VAT the best way to cut energy bills?

Our new blog looks at the alternatives, from targeting electricity to a one-off debt forgiveness scheme. Is there a better way to spend £2.5 billion?

⤵️ https://bit.ly/42ElFDV

The challenge of energy affordability is very real, but rising block tariffs aren’t the answer. People on low incomes with poorly insulated homes or who need more energy for health reasons could see rising bills, while those with multiple homes or can install solar panels avoid paying a fair share

New paper from Citizens Advice on how to deliver tangible growth - which puts money in people’s pockets - in consumer markets.

TLDR: Consumer confidence is key & slashing hard won consumer protections without adequate safeguards isn’t the answer.

Heat network customers are being hit with high prices, unfair billing and aggressive debt collection practices banned across most of the energy industry.

As the official consumer champion for heat networks we interviewed 50 people on heat networks from across the country.

Here’s what we found… 🧵

Short sighted policy making: Why does history keep repeating itself? This government, like many before them, is offering extreme prescriptions before being certain of the diagnosis.

A blog by @lauralhutch.bsky.social & me, pulling together some of the strands from recent work by our colleagues @craigpberry.bsky.social @julia-rt.bsky.social and @maddyirose.bsky.social. Link here - it’s an 8 minute read apparently wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/short-sighte... (1/6)

A better option is to reduce levies on electricity for everyone, so that all technologies are equally supported. This should come with targeted support for those who may struggle if some levies are moved onto gas bills, plus ambitious energy efficiency and green heat schemes (2/2)

A targeted exemption from energy bill levies does nothing to help millions of people with traditional electric heating, who are often in the deepest fuel poverty. They also face barriers to switching to heat pumps as they’re more likely to be in flats and rent their homes (1/2)

Breakfast - 12/05/2025 The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC's Breakfast team.

Eileen spoke on BBC Breakfast this morning at the help she got from Citizens Advice Brighton and Hove when she was struggling to pay her energy bills.

Watch back on BBC iplayer (40 mins in) ⤵️
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Image of a man holding a phone whilst looking at a bill. Text reads: 'What should I do if I'm struggling to pay my heat network bills?'

If you’re struggling to pay your heat network bills, you should:

✔️ Check if there are ways to save money on your bills
✔️ Check if your bill is correct
✔️ Contact the company or person you pay your bills to and discuss ways to pay what you owe

Our advice can help ⤵️
bit.ly/4jLcF6H

Important (and excellent) paper from @julia-rt.bsky.social for @citizensadvice.bsky.social on the Household Support Fund and what crisis support should look like in the future

Providing Warm Home Discount to millions more low income households will make a real difference - particularly for people with children who are struggling most - but we also need to increase the level of support for those with the highest energy needs www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Awful news for struggling households today that the price cap will rise by over £100 from April - as new research by Citizens Advice shows almost 7 million people now live in households affected by energy debt. It’s welcome that the govt has brought forward proposals to tackle these issues 1/2

If this sort of mitigation is going to be needed, you have to question whether the reform is a good idea.

Screenshot via @utilityweek.

Every little change Ofgem makes, every failure to properly manage the price control framework 'only adds a few pounds to bills'. No-one is responsible for adding up all the 'few pounds' Ofgem's failures add on. This glib statement encapsulates all that is wrong with the regulator. Change is needed.

Will Johnstone, Principal Policy Manager at @citizensadvice.bsky.social says their modelling shows 5 million people are in a negative budget, while 2.35 million are living on empty. #FuelPovertyConf

Alex Belsham-Harris on LinkedIn: Principal Policy Manager - Energy Retail Markets:Blended between office… 🆕 Looking for a unique challenge in 2025? Join Citizens Advice to lead our work on the energy retail market! 📢 Leading a large policy team and acting as a…

🚨 last few days to apply for this unique role leading @citizensadvice.bsky.social work on the retail energy market, tackling issues like affordability, service standards and innovation on the journey to clean power - reach out if interested! www.linkedin.com/posts/alex-b...

Number of people seeking help with energy bills up by 20% last year Citizens Advice says it assisted 60,000 households in England and Wales with cost of gas and electricity in 2024

"Consumers simply can’t afford to pick up the tab when something goes wrong, and the onus shouldn’t be on them to make up for companies’ billing errors"
- @alexbelsham-harris.bsky.social

Read more ⤵️
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/j...

How to be financially savvy in 2025 Black Friday, the festive season and Boxing Day sales can leave you entering the new year feeling financially a bit worse for wear… but it…

Do you want to be more financially savvy in 2025?

Check out our top tips ⤵️
wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/how-to-be-fi...

It's now down to the Government to ensure we pay for energy in a fair and affordable way. This includes targeted bill support (supported by data matching), improved access to energy efficiency, and enabling proper resourcing for advice so that debt relief leads to sustainable outcomes (3/3)

It's getting less press attention, but the new debt strategy is much better news for consumers. Debt standards should close the protection gaps we @citizensadvice.bsky.social have highlighted, and an ambitious debt relief scheme could tackle the large arrears built up in the energy crisis (2/3)

After Ofgem opened Pandora's box with its review of standing charges, they've decided against the worst options, which pushed up costs for people on low incomes with high energy needs. Its new proposals offer more choice - but doing this via the price cap may add complexity for little benefit (1/3)

Throughout the general election @citizensadvice.bsky.social
repeatedly said the number 1 issue was living standards. Pleased this is now recognised in govt milestones.

In June 2019, our average debt client had £20 left after essentials. Now, on average, they're in the red every month.

Column chart showing annual gas and electricity levies as a share of net income for Ofgem consumer archetypes. Shares vary by main fuel type: gas, electricity, electricity/other, and other. Levies are highest as a share of income for lower-income archetypes. Overall they range between 0.5 and 1.5%.

OK, time for a proper thread on levies on energy bills, based on our report out today.

Topline: the levies are unfair, and a huge barrier to reaching net zero. To reform them, we should rebalance levies on to gas while targeting support to low income households.

www.nesta.org.uk/report/cheap...