Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the level of personal debt associated with unpaid energy bills; and if he will make a statement.

Figures on levels of personal debt associated with unpaid energy are sourced from the Ofgem report ‘vulnerable consumers in the retail energy market 2017’. Ofgem estimates that in 2016 the proportions of customers in debt for gas by nation were: England: 2.5%, Scotland: 2.7%, and Wales: 2.3%. For electricity the proportions are similar with England: 2.5%, Scotland: 2.5%, and Wales: 2.2%. The average level of debt owed at the point customers started repaying was for gas £622 and for electricity £628.

The full report can be found at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/files/docs/2017/10/consumer_vulnerability_report_web.pdf

When a supplier becomes aware a customer is having difficulties paying their energy bills they are required by license conditions to offer:

• A means where payment may be deducted at source from benefits received by that customer;
• Regular instalments paid through a means other than a prepayment meter - taking all reasonable steps to ascertain the customer’s ability to pay.
• using a prepayment meter, where it is safe and reasonably practicable in all the circumstances of the case for the Domestic Customer to do so, and taking all reasonable steps to ascertain the customer’s ability to pay.