Budget 2026: Key points from John Healey’s speech

One-off £100 payment for 20 million households in council tax bands A-D in England to help deal with rising energy bills, with equivalent funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Standing charges – fixed daily fees customers pay regardless of usage – to be removed from household gas bills in England, Scotland and Wales, with costs added to the unit rate instead

VAT cut on electricity bills extended beyond April to July

A green levy – the Gas Shipper Obligation to fund hydrogen projects – to be removed from energy bills and put on to general taxation

Freeze on fuel duty extended again to July

Import taxes to be removed on more than 100 food products, including gherkins and marmalade, as well as kerosene and fertilisers

A 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate for those driving up to 10,000 miles for work made permanent, with the rate rising from 25p per mile to 35p above that distance

A new scheme taking 25% off electricity bills for 10,000 firms to launch in April, with payments backdated for energy costs this year