Payment to 20m homes part of package to help cut energy bills and ease cost-of-living crisis, paid for by bank windfall tax Budget 2026: key points at a glance Budget 2026 live – latest updates John Healey promised to steer Britain through “global economic storms,” as he announced a package of measures to cut consumers’ energy bills, funded by a smaller-than-expected windfall tax on banks. In his first budget, the chancellor said 20m households in council tax bands A to D would receive a £100 payment – a measure he said would cost £2.6bn. Continue reading...