YORK council leader Keith Aspden has welcomed the new energy price cap - but slammed the decision to make taxpayers foot the bill instead of bringing in a tougher windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

The new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, announced earlier today that she will be freezing bills at the £2,500 mark, as the Government plans to ease the impact of the rising cost of living.

This new figure is around £500 higher than current levels, however the price cap is set to rise by 80% on October 1.

Once that rise happens, the £2,500 figure will be around £1,000 below the Ofgem price cap.

Cllr Aspden, a Liberal Democrat, said he welcomed action to support people and businesses facing the 'unprecedented and disastrous' energy crisis.

However, he said the freeze in bills would not address the cost of living emergency facing people now, as this winter’s bills will still rise by more than £500 - 'but it will hopefully halt the crisis from worsening.'

He said: “After months of calls for a plan to be introduced, it’s good to see that the Prime Minister has partly adopted the policy first developed by the Liberal Democrats to freeze energy bills – despite her outspoken opposition to the idea during the leadership contest.

“Whist this support is crucial, it should not be paid by taxpayers but rather by oil and gas companies making record profits.

"BP and Shell made nearly £30 billion in profits in the first two quarters of this year alone with far more excess profits rejected this year, yet Liz Truss is refusing to bring in a tougher windfall tax and expecting households to pick up the bill instead."