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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2017 to Question 108128, on energy: debts, what steps his Department is taking to support vulnerable consumers with debts associated with unpaid energy bills.

Ofgem’s Standard Licence Condition 27 requires suppliers to offer customers experiencing difficulties paying their energy bills the following:

• 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; and

• 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.

Meanwhile, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy continues to work closely with the Regulator on initiatives such as removing barriers that vulnerable customers face in switching to cheaper suppliers.