The Chancellor, in his wisdom, has decided to increase the heating allowance for people over 60 by £50 and for people over 80 by £100 for this year only.

He is just trying to pull the wool over people's eyes and it will not wash.

The truth of how hollow a gesture this is will come out when the bills start dropping on people's doormats in the near future.

I have just received from my power company an assessment for my usage over the next 12 months.

It suggests my monthly direct debit payments should be increased by £45.50 per month, from £57 to £102.50, a staggering increase of nearly 85 per cent.

My current annual bill for both electricity and gas is £684.

According to my power company, it will rise this year to £1,230, despite being on the lowest tariff available.

My electricity and gas usage has varied little since I changed companies in 2006 and I do not envisage that this will alter much in the next 12 months.

I have complained to Energywatch about this unjustified demand. It passed my complaint to my power company.

In its letter, the company tried to pull the wool over my eyes with facts and figures, but was unable to justify to me, satisfactorily, the reason for this massive increase, given that we have been informed that the cost of gas to the power companies has risen by an average 14 per cent and electricity by slightly less.

I have searched the web for a cheaper option and I have found one company cheaper than mine, but only for the first six months, then any benefit I would achieve is lost.

If this price hike is happening to me, how on earth does the Chancellor justify his measly £50 and £100 increase in the heating allowance to those who need it most, from a health point of view, to try to keep warm 24/7 over the winter months?

KEN JONES Fernhill Road Begbroke