Rishi Sunak to donate £400 energy discount to charity

Rishi Sunak will donate his energy bill discount to a charity in his constituency.

On Thursday, the chancellor announced a £15bn package of measures in response to the worsening cost-of-living crisis aimed at easing the squeeze on British households.

Among the package of support is a universal discount of £400 off energy bills for all households.

Yahoo News UK understands that Sunak will not keep the discount he receives - and instead will give it to a "local cause".

Read more: Rishi Sunak’s £15bn cost of living package ‘averts the darkest of outcomes’

The £400 of energy bill discount was part of a package of measures funded by a new windfall tax, which also includes:

• Eight million households on benefits will receive a one off £650 payment

• Every household will receive £400 towards their energy bills, with the £200 repayable 'discount' scrapped

• Pensioners will receive a £300 cost of living payment

• Non-means tested disability benefit claimants with receive a £150

• An additional £500m will be added to the Household Support Fund

The announcement came after Sunak was subject to intense pressure to increase the amount of support for millions of households after inflation hit 9% and the average household energy bill rocketed by £693 in April.

And, over the weekend, E.On warned that 40% of Brits were set to fall into fuel poverty by the end of the year without a financial support.

Sunak's intervention also came after the toughest period of his political career so far.

Earlier this month, he received a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for attending an illegal gathering on Downing Street.

In April, he faced backlash after it emerged his wife was legally claiming non-domiciled status to avoid paying millions in tax.

Read more: Second-home owners to get double payout of Rishi Sunak's £400 energy discount

He also came under scrutiny for previously holding a US green card while he was working in government - although an investigation found he had handled the situation as legally required.

In the aftermath of the mini-budget, economists praised the Sunak's financial intervention - including director of the Resolution Foundation, Torsten Bell, who said it was "a big and very welcome package of support"

However, Labour has criticised the chancellor for not acting sooner.

“After five months of being dragged kicking and screaming, the chancellor has finally come to his senses, U-turned, and adopted Labour’s plan for a windfall tax on oil and gas producer profits to lower bills,” said the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

Watch: Rishi Sunak sets out £15 billion emergency package to mitigate soaring cost of living