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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of energy company meter readers that have lost their jobs in the last ten years.

Smart meters are modernising the energy system, bringing an end to estimated bills and manual meter reads, which reduces costs and improves service for consumers.

Energy suppliers are responsible for managing their workforce and the provision of metering and billing services. They have adopted a number of approaches to their changing workforce requirements, including re-training meter readers for other roles such as smart meter installers.