Energy bills: ‘significant number’ of Britons got help they didn’t need – NAO

Public spending watchdog says £69bn package was applied so quickly it could be open to fraud

A “significant number” of households in Great Britain received financial support they did not need through the government’s £69bn package to cushion the blow of rising energy bills, the public spending watchdog has said.

A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the blanket nature of the financial support meant it helped a “deadweight” of households and businesses that could have afforded to absorb the price rises. It also warned that the speed at which it was distributed left the schemes open to fraud.