In his emergency statement and “stability” speech this morning (17 October), Hunt scrapped many of the tax cuts that were the calamitous brainchild of Kwarteng and Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Hunt said his changes would raise around £32bn a year as a result. 

The biggest single expense in the Truss-Kwarteng ‘growth plan’ was the Energy Price Guarantee. 

Hunt described it as a landmark policy and said support would remain in place until April 2023.

“But beyond that the Prime Minister and I have agreed it would not be responsible to continue exposing public finances to unlimited volatility in international gas prices,” Hunt stated. 

The original scheme was supposed to run until the end of September 2024.

There will instead be a Treasury-led review into how to support energy bill beyond April, with the objective of costing the taxpayer "significantly less" than originally planned, Hunt said.

On energy price support for business, he stated: “Any support for business will be targeted to those most affected and the new approach will better incentivise energy efficiency.”

Industry body collective the GPMA has already urged print bosses to complete a Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) survey that will shape which industries gain ‘vulnerable industry’ status under the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

Hunt’s statement makes it even more important for printing and related business to make sure the government has as much information as possible to inform its crucial decisions on who will get support – and who won’t. 

Hunt was appointed chancellor on 14 October following the dramatic sacking of Kwarteng. Hunt is the fourth chancellor in as many months.