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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of further delays to the DCC go-live date on the effectiveness of smart meter rollout.

The Data and Communications Company is in the final stages of testing the national new data and communications infrastructure for smart metering. It is important to get this right to ensure a good consumer experience from the outset.

In parallel, the roll out continues to make good progress. Consumers are able to receive smart meters ahead of the national infrastructure going live and more than 3.6 million smart meters are already operating in homes and businesses across the country.