Government has 'lost the plot' over plan to let GPs prescribe discounts on heating bills

The government has "lost the plot" over a plan to let GPs prescribe discounts to patients to help pay their energy bills, a Labour MP has said.

The idea is currently under consideration by the Treasury department as a way to help alleviate the cost of living crisis by targeting those most in need, the Sun on Sunday reported.

GPs would assess if patients required help with their energy costs and give them a discount to use, the report said.

It comes after experts warned energy prices could spike at as much as £6,000 per year for the average household from next April.

Watch: Labour hit out at Conservative ‘vagaries’ over energy policy

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting criticised the Conservatives as he reiterated Labour's proposal to stop energy bills rising over the winter.

He tweeted: "The Conservatives have lost the plot on the cost of living crisis and haven’t got a clue about the level of pressure on the NHS."

Labour’s Dr Rosena Allin-Khan added: "Instead of trying to shift responsibility onto someone else, government ministers should step up and actually do their jobs. The buck stops with them."

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Northern Ireland MP Stephen Farry wrote: "More insanity from a failing government.

"How NOT to solve the cost of living crisis, while simultaneously making the health service crisis even worse."

Downing Street has been criticised for being light on policies to deal with the crisis as the Tories concentrate on electing a new leader from foreign secretary Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

The winner of the contest is expected to announce measures to help with rising energy costs via an emergency autumn budget.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, a close ally of Truss who is tipped to be her chancellor, insisted in a Mail+ article there would be new support this winter as energy bills soared.

He said Truss "will look at what more can be done to help families" but insisted it was "entirely reasonable not to detail the exact shape of that support until she has all the information to hand".

The cost of living crisis is only set to worsen between now and next summer, as consultancy Auxilione predicted that the price cap on bills would gradually rise by more than £4,000 in the next eight months.

Read more: Quit smoking and stop living off takeaways to cope with cost of living crisis, MP says

It said the cap was expected to reach £3,576 in October, rising to £4,799 in January, and finally hitting £6,089 in April.

The new forecast is an increase of £96 in January and £233 in April compared to the last prediction.

The cap is currently at £1,971 for the average household.

A government spokesperson said: “We know that rising prices are causing significant challenges for families, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37 billion worth of support throughout the year, which includes specific support to help people through the difficult winter ahead.

“Eight million of the most vulnerable households will see £1,200 extra support, provided in instalments across the year, and everyone will receive £400 over the winter to help with energy bills.

"That’s including a record fuel duty cut and a National Insurance cut worth up to £330 a year for the typical employee.

“We are making necessary preparations to ensure a new government will have options to deliver additional support as quickly as possible.”