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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussion he has had with Ofgem about the potential merits of a ban on the forcible installation of prepayment meters this winter.

The energy regulator Ofgem has rules in place that restrict the force-fitting of a prepayment meter on customers who are in debt, except as a last resort, and only where it is safe to do so.

Circumstances under which it is deemed not safe to have a prepayment meter include specific disabilities or illnesses, or having children under five.

If prepayment meters were not used in the market, court enforcement would be the only recourse for suppliers in cases of non-payment and large debt.