Powers of Entry: Meters

(asked on 20th December 2022) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the volume of warrants being issued by magistrates to install prepayment meters.


Answered by
Mike Freer Portrait
Mike Freer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 13th January 2023

Under the applicable statutory framework, in order to grant an application to enforce a right of entry, a justice must be satisfied that:

  • There is a right of entry;
  • Admission is reasonably required; and
  • The requirements of the Gas Act or Electricity Act have been complied with (this relates principally to the giving of notice).

The justice must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that these grounds apply. The legislation, which the Justice of the Peace must apply, does not require the energy supplier to demonstrate they are acting as a last resort in seeking a warrant to install a prepayment meter to avoid disconnecting the customer’s supply.

Since 2019 the volume of warrants issued has been increasing year on year, save for a dip during 2020, peaking at 367,084 in 2022.

Year

Granted

Refused

Total

2019

277,142

1,824

278,966

2020

221,494

43

221,537

2021

332,277

36

332,313

2022

367,084

56

367,140

In the period between July 2021 and December 2022, a total 536,214 warrants were applied for by energy suppliers. Of those, the vast majority (536,139) were granted; while 75 were refused.

These figures represent all warrants of entry, as warrants for the purpose of installing a prepayment meter cannot be isolated from the data.

Data by court centre on the number of warrants granted and refused following an application by an energy supplier can be found in the table attached. Data on a constituency level is not held.

These data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics. The data provided is the most recent available and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information.

More widely we are supporting all households with the Energy Price Guarantee - saving a typical household c.£900 this winter – plus the £400 discount on energy bills. The most vulnerable households will get £1,200, plus other cost of living support delivered via benefits and pensions.

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