Our message to the Chancellor: put customers first in the Budget

A Budget for our customers

On 28 October, the Chancellor will set out the government’s tax and spending plans for the year ahead. It lands just as the heating goes on, in one of the toughest winters many households have faced in years.

At Custom Heat & Cool, we’ve been looking after homes and businesses since 1980. Our engineers are in our customers’ homes every day, so we see first-hand what the cost of living is doing to people.

My message to the Chancellor is simple: this Budget needs to ease the pressure on households and on the local businesses that serve them. When businesses are squeezed, it’s customers who end up paying, and that’s the last thing we want. Here’s what we’d like the Budget to deliver.

Heating or eating is a real choice

On 1 October, the energy price cap rose to £1,723 a year for a typical household, the highest level in three years. Every unit of gas now costs around 27% more than last winter, and forecasters warn bills could rise by almost another £300 in January.

For many families, that’s simply unaffordable. Around five million UK households already spend more than a fifth of their income on energy, and around one in three people are in energy debt or close to it.

These aren’t just statistics to us. Our engineers meet customers who are rationing their heating, keeping it off until they can’t bear the cold, or choosing between heating their home and feeding their family. No one should have to make that choice.

Who’s most at risk this winter

A cold home isn’t just uncomfortable. For older people, young children and anyone living with a health condition, it can be dangerous. Those are often the households with the least room in their budgets.

More than 100,000 older households are already in energy debt, and energy debt across the UK is predicted to reach £7 billion by the end of 2026. As the weather turns colder, those pressures will only grow.

That’s why we take extra care with vulnerable customers, and why we believe support this winter must reach them first.

Employing people has never cost more

We treat our team like family, and our engineers are at the heart of everything we do. But every new hire now carries a bigger cost. Since April 2025, employers have paid National Insurance at 15% on earnings above £5,000, up from 13.8% above £9,100, and in April 2026 the National Living Wage rose to £12.71 an hour.

For a skilled engineer on £45,000, employer National Insurance alone now comes to around £6,000 a year. When it costs this much to grow a team, businesses either hire fewer people or raise prices. Neither is good for customers.

A skills shortage means longer waits

Heating and cooling is an employee’s market. There are around 130,000 gas engineers on the Gas Safe Register, but around half are over 55, and an estimated 65,000 could retire within the next decade.

Fewer engineers means longer waits for customers whose boiler has broken down on a cold night. We’re doing our part, with six apprentices completing their qualifications this year, but it takes years to train a fully qualified engineer. We’d like the Budget to invest in apprenticeships and trade training, and to support the businesses that take on and develop new engineers.

Fuel costs hit field-based businesses hardest

Our engineers can’t work from home. Every service, repair and installation means a van on the road. On 28 September, the average price of diesel hit a record 199.18p a litre, the highest in UK history, and fuel duty is set to start rising again in the new year.

Those costs don’t disappear. They land on businesses like ours and, eventually, on the households we serve. We’re asking the Chancellor to scrap the planned fuel duty rises.

Help should reach those who need it most

Grants for more efficient, lower-carbon heating can make a real difference to running costs. But a grant that rarely covers the full cost of an installation will always favour households who can find the rest. From what we see in our customers’ homes, grants too often go to people already planning a renovation, rather than those struggling to heat their homes.

Many homeowners are also unsure about new technology. Research from Which? found people see a heat pump as a high-stakes gamble, worried about upfront costs and future running costs. Clear, honest advice and stable long-term support would help families make the right choice for their home.

What we’re asking the Chancellor for

• Targeted support this winter for the most vulnerable households, so no one has to choose between heating and eating.
• Ease the cost of employing and training people, so local businesses can keep prices fair and keep growing.
• Invest in a skills pipeline for heating and cooling engineers, so customers aren’t left waiting.
• Scrap the planned fuel duty rises for field-based businesses.
• Set out a clear, stable, long-term plan for home heating and cooling that families and businesses can trust.

If you’re struggling this winter

If you’re worried about keeping warm, you’re not alone, and there is help available.

• Talk to your energy supplier early. Suppliers can discuss payment plans and support if you’re finding bills hard to pay.
• Check the Warm Home Discount. Eligible households can get £150 off their electricity bill over winter.
• Compare fixed tariffs. Ofgem says some fixed deals are £100 or more below the October price cap.
• Get free, independent advice. Citizens Advice can help with energy debt and benefits you may be entitled to.
• Stay safe. Never use ovens, barbecues or outdoor heaters to warm your home, and make sure you have a working carbon monoxide alarm.

If your heating isn’t working properly, or you’re worried it’s costing more than it should, get in touch. We’ll always give you honest advice.

What we want for our customers

This winter, we want every customer to be able to put the heating on without fear of the bill. We want support to reach the most vulnerable households first. And we want businesses like ours to be able to keep prices fair, keep our engineers on the road and be there when customers need us.

The Budget on 28 October is a chance to ease the pressure on households and the local businesses that serve them. Get it right, and businesses like ours can do what we do best: create jobs, support our communities and keep homes and businesses comfortable for generations to come.

Comfort you can feel, care you can trust. That’s our promise, this winter and every winter.

Lincoln Smith, Managing Director, Custom Heat & Cool