GPs reject Treasury plan for them to prescribe money off energy bills

theguardian.com:

Senior GPs have rejected the Treasury’s idea that they could prescribe money off energy bills for the most vulnerable, as officials scramble for proposals to present to Liz Truss next month.

The Treasury is looking at the unusual concept, as the frontrunner to be the new prime minister signalled over the weekend that she will examine the options for helping with costs – now forecast to top £6,000 next year when she takes office.

Some MPs believe Truss may be about to set out more details of her plans for helping with energy bills as soon as this week – through either more tax cuts, support payments for the most vulnerable or backing for the industry’s idea of a state-backed “deficit tariff scheme”.

She has resisted backing any specific plans so far, but there is some concern from Tory MPs that her reluctance to spell out help is damaging her standing with the public.

It comes as the latest forecasts from the energy consultants Auxilione suggested energy prices could go above £6,000 a year for the average household next year, and Ofgem, the regulator, is expected to lift the price cap from £1,971 to £3,576 this week.

The Treasury proposal would mean people could consult their doctor for an assessment on whether they are vulnerable enough to require help with their bills.

A senior government source said the GP plan was “something that we are interested in looking at”, although it is a “long way off completion”. Help could, for example, be targeted at those with health conditions that make them especially vulnerable to the cold.

The idea, first reported in the Sun on Sunday, was dismissed by medics.

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said family doctors were “not qualified to assess whether people should or