Prepayment Meters

Kenny MacAskill Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Graham Stuart]

Of course, the Government are providing an unprecedented three layers of support for consumers: the cost of living support for those on benefits, the £900 reduction in energy bills this winter and the additional £400 energy bills support scheme, as well as help for those on alternative fuels. The Government are bending over backwards, within an unprecedented and tight situation, precisely to help constituents such as those the hon. Lady mentioned, because we have to bear in mind the most vulnerable—those who are struggling, especially on a day like this when it is so horribly cold.

[Kenny MacAskill (East Lothian) (Alba)]

Legacy prepayment meters number about 300,000 in Scotland and 2 million in the UK. Many have a credit limit of only £99, which with the perverse higher tariff and standing charges does not go far, especially in cold times such as now. That requires multiple top-ups, and often people who are on legacy prepayment meters live in either rural areas or deprived urban areas devoid of public transport, or have restricted mobility. Will the Minister also undertake to address this other injustice, heaped upon those who are already the poorest and most vulnerable?

[Graham Stuart]

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight people in rural areas, including the remote highlands and islands, which I am sure the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) will question me about if he gets the chance. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we need a system that recognises the geographical and proximity challenges that affect people such as those he has mentioned, and—while under unprecedented stress, as I say—works at that granular level for ordinary families, often in remote areas. They need help and we need a system that supports them.