British government will remove VAT from electricity bills

The British government will remove VAT from household electricity bills from October 1.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will fund the tax cut by cancelling a £1.8 billion digital identity programme.

The programme would have required workers to hold digital identification as part of efforts to curb illegal immigration.

A cross-party parliamentary committee had described the scheme as a failure.

Burnham took office on Monday and has made lowering living costs an early priority.