Draft government proposals to soften the blow of rising fuel bills by spreading relief across all British families with children this winter have been disclosed by a senior Whitehall official who was overheard discussing options on a Leeds to London train, it was confirmed last night. But claims that ministers may give £150 to all 7.5 million families which claim child benefit - a far wider net than expected - was dismissed as inaccurate speculation at a stage when the government's detailed response to turmoil in the global food, fuel and financial markets is still being developed. Ministers are casting around for ways of paying for such help at a time when the Treasury's revenues are falling and its costs rising as the economy dips sharply. One favourite option is a windfall tax on energy giants or their carbon emissions....
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