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 impose a moratorium on people on the Priority Services Register being put on energy pre-payment meters.

Prepayment meters enable customers to budget and can help reduce the risk of entering, or exacerbating, debt. When installing a prepayment meter, suppliers must consider whether this is appropriate for the specific customer, including whether this is safe and practical.

Ofgem also requires suppliers to maintain a Priority Services Register for vulnerable consumers with additional, non-financial needs. Those on a Priority Service Register are offered a range of free services relating to safety, access, and communication.

Whether a consumer is on the Priority Services Register is not necessarily relevant to whether a prepayment meter is appropriate for a specific customer.