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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that people who fall into arrears in paying for their energy have a one-to-one visit from the local authority services for the purposes of (a) discussing the reasons for which they have not paid and (b) helping to ensure that they are able to access the support they may require.

The Government has policies in place to ensure protection for consumers who struggle to pay their energy bills. Last year, we introduced the ‘Breathing Space’ scheme, which aims to address consumers’ ability to tackle debt and offers legal protections from creditors for 60 days.

In December 2020, Ofgem introduced new licensing conditions, including an Ability to Pay Principle, which obligates suppliers to provide appropriate support for those struggling to pay their bills by setting up appropriate repayment plans based on a customer’s ability to pay, and by directing the customer to further support services.