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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the level of fuel debt accumulated on prepayment meters due to the build-up of standing charges; and what steps he is taking to help prevent the accumulation of fuel debt through standing charges.

Standing charges are capped under the energy price cap which is set by Ofgem to protect customers on default tariffs.

In addition to the existing £12bn package, the government has announced a further package of support to help households with the rising cost of energy, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes:

• A £200 discount on energy bills this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years.
• A £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England.
• £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.