Treasury plans to scrap gas standing charges from household bills

The Treasury announced at 7am on 28 October 2026 that gas standing charges would be removed from household bills, the same day Chancellor John Healey was scheduled to deliver the Budget under Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The announcement was reported in the Guardian's live coverage.

Standing charges are fixed amounts on gas bills that households pay regardless of how much gas they use. The Treasury said they cost the typical household £108 a year on average.

According to the Treasury, removing them could save 60% of account-holding households around £45 a year on average. Under the plan, the fixed gas costs would instead be recovered through the unit rate, the price paid for each unit of gas used, so the cost would shift from a daily fixed charge to the amount of gas a household consumes.

Healey planned to ask Ofgem, the regulator for Britain's gas and electricity markets, to deliver the removal of standing charges in 2027 or as soon as possible after that. The change depends on that request.

The Budget is the government's annual statement of tax and spending plans. HM Treasury is the department responsible for economic and financial policy, and the Chancellor leads it. In September, Healey said he and the Prime Minister were committed to meeting the government's fiscal rules, the self-imposed limits on borrowing and spending, and to balancing the books at the coming Budget.