Standing charges on gas bills to be scrapped from 2027, Chancellor confirms

Standing charges on gas bills will be scrapped from next year for around 23 million homes, the Treasury has announced. The charges are a fixed daily fee added to bills, regardless of how much gas a customer uses, and cost around £108 per year for a typical household. The Treasury said Chancellor John Healey will today ask regulator Ofgem to remove standing charges “in 2027 or as soon as possible after”. Healey will deliver his first Budget in the Commons on Wednesday afternoon and said the change will give families “breathing space” and make the energy system fairer. Follow The i Paper’s live blog for all the latest. Sort: October 28, 2026 7:24 amGood morning – and welcome back Welcome back to The i Paper’s politics on Wednesday, 28 October.It’s Budget day, and Chancellor John Healey is preparing to deliver his first fiscal statement.All eyes will be on the Commons at around 12.40pm, straight after Prime Minister’s Questions, when Healey will set out his financial plans for the year ahead.Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey have been planning the Budget for months (Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)We’ve already had one hint of how it will go this morning, with the Treasury confirming that standing charges on gas bills will be scrapped from next year for around 23 million homes.The charges are a fixed daily fee added to bills, regardless of how much gas a customer uses, and cost around £108 per year for a typical household.The Treasury said Chancellor John Healey will today ask regulator Ofgem to remove standing charges “in 2027 or as soon as possible after”.We’ll have all the latest news and analysis throughout the day.