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1,787 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionI thank my learned hon. Friend for his typically erudite question, and I agree with him. That is why, two weeks ago, we said that we would work with the Ministry of Justice to…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. We should all be grateful to The Times and its journalists for going undercover and revealing such behaviour—the processes were not followed.…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionThe hon. Lady says that prepayment meters are unfair, full stop. That is clearly not true: they have a great use. What they should do—06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionI would say no, because there are clear duties on the suppliers, in this case British Gas, which is why I spoke to its chief executive last week to tell him how disgusted the…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionWhere the charges are higher, it is because the system, which I think was last changed when the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) was Secretary of State, has…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionAs I said, the system for a long time has been that charges should be cost-reflective, and it is more expensive to service prepayment meters. We need to look hard to ensure that…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionIt is worth pointing out that emergency credit should be supplied to customers and support should be put in place for those who get into arrears. It is a failure of the existing…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionOf course I welcome the move by Lord Justice Edis to order magistrates courts to stop the authorisation of warrants for energy firms, and I will write to my hon. Friend if I can…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionI entirely agree with the hon. Lady. That is exactly the sort of development we want to emerge from what has happened. We want to ensure that prepayment meters are removed when…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionAs I have said, that situation has obtained since the Labour Government introduced the current regime, and it is that cost-reflective principle which leads to prepayment meter…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Government will support the regulator to look into this matter thoroughly because any injustice done to any consumer must be identified and…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionIt is precisely for people who have been ill-treated such as the hon. Lady’s constituent that we need to reform the system and ensure that suppliers meet their licence…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionThat is exactly the purpose of the further work undertaken by the regulator: to ensure that we have a system that is fair to all and that, if there has been a failure of due…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionThe hon. Gentleman asks a good question. I would not want to encourage focus on anything other than the failure of suppliers to fulfil their obligations. He is right that we also…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionOf course, the Government have stepped up. That is precisely what we have done with the energy price guarantee, providing £900 of support this winter, plus the energy bill support…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionAs the hon. Gentleman will know, my job as the Energy Minister is to ensure that we have a strong, robust energy system that is fair to everyone and most of all to the most…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionAs I have said, the situation was created under the last Labour Government in which suppliers have been obliged to charge rates that reflect the actual costs to them of delivering…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and he is quite right to speak up for people in rural areas who find themselves in exactly the position he describes. I am pleased to…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionI thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I am happy to confirm the compensation. If prepayment meters were made cheaper, we would have everybody seeking a prepayment meter and…06 Feb 2023HANSARD Prepayment Meters: Ofgem DecisionI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The cost of energy has gone up, and despite extraordinary interventions by the Government, families are none the less finding it…06 Feb 2023