DOCTORS will be able to write prescriptions to give Brits money off their energy bills under radical government proposals.
The idea has been drawn up by the Treasury as they scramble to ease the painful cost of living crisis hammering the country.
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It comes as experts warned the energy price cap could TRIPLE to £6,000 next April. It is currently £1,971.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has ordered boffins to come up with a string of plans to help Brits with their rocketing energy bills.
But it will be down to the next PM – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – to decide what extra help to give.
Under one radical option, needy Brits would be told to go to their GP if they needed help heating their homes.
Their doctor would chat to the patient and verify they needed help – either because they were sick, elderly or just in need.
The GP would then effectively write a prescription saying the person should get money off their bills.
This could be doled out in cash via the local council, or come in the form of a voucher for gas and electricity.
Treasury officials are braced for GPs to kick off at the wacky idea.
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But they have drawn up the plan because they think it could be targeted at the needy, while being more flexible than some of the alternatives like increasing benefits.
They are trying to come up with a plan which is not universal, as they do not want to be handing cash bungs to the ultra rich.
One Whitehall source said: “There is no world in which the government wants to let bad things happen to people.
“They want to make sure people have got enough support to keep the lights and heating on.”
But one senior Tory MP lashed the idea.
They told The Sun: “This is an idea from another world. It won’t work.
“You can’t even get a GP appointment now. Add that to their workload and the system would topple over.
“And should GPs be there to dole out money?”
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Treasury officials are working on a bunch of energy bailout options – falling short of nationalisation.
Another proposal is to cut the energy price cap by around £400 by removing one of the charges companies slap on consumers.
No11 also wants to slash the cost of bills by separating the price of gas from the price of electricity.
Currently gas prices – sky high because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – sets all energy prices including electricity. This pushes up bills massively.
While various options for emergency support are being kicked around ahead of winter, ministers are also working on plans to beef up our energy security.
Government insiders privately warn that if the Ukraine war drags on for years then it may prove impossible to keep writing multibillion pound bailout cheques.
Mr Zahawi has ordered his officials to supercharge work on fracking, hydrogen and nuclear energy so we are less reliant on foreign imports.
