WSA response to energy bills announcement from Prime Minister

WSA response to energy bills announcement from Prime Minister

Prime Minister Liz Truss today announced new measures to intervene in the continued increasing of energy bills.

The PM revealed that there will be an energy price cap fixed at £2,500 a year for a typical home, for two years from October 1st. The government will secure this while fixing the wholesale price of energy.

Meanwhile, Truss announced that there will be a new six-month scheme for businesses which will provide equivalent support to that being offered to consumers – capping energy prices per unit.

After that six-month period, ministers plan to offer “focused support” to vulnerable industries, although there is currently no suggestion of what this entails. It should also be noted that the support offered to business will be reviewed in three months to see if the help should be more targeted towards certain industries.

Welsh Sports Association (WSA) CEO, Andrew Howard, has reacted to the news:

“The package announced by the Prime Minister today will be welcome relief to many households and businesses.

“At the Welsh Sports Association we are concerned that the measures do not go far enough for energy intensive businesses in the sport and leisure sector, and create another cliff edge at the end of the six-month freeze for businesses.

“The sport and physical activity industry is still struggling with low customer numbers post-COVID, and we expect spending on sport and leisure to fall over the winter as households meet the challenge of increasing bills. Despite today’s intervention, many of our members will continue to see substantial increases in their outgoings just as their incomes fall over the winter.

“Alongside launching a procurement portal with our partners 2buy2 and Community Leisure UK we will continue to work with the UK and Welsh Governments to ensure the future of our sporting facilities and organisations.”