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Dept for Constitutional Affairs

Answer

Mr. Pope: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) how many applications for warrants for energy disconnection under the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954, as amended, were (a) granted, (b) refused and (c) verified by magistrates courts in England and Wales in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003 and (iii) 2004; [204116] (2) how many applications for energy disconnection under the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954, as amended, were granted by each magistrates court in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [204117] Mr. Leslie: Completed cases information is provided by magistrates courts to my Department but it is not provided in sufficient detail to identify cases that resulted from specific legislation. To obtain this information from the individual magistrates courthouses could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) does collect pertinent data for England, Wales and Scotland and they are provided in the following table. It should be noted that disconnection is a last resort and that in particular, vulnerable customers are offered alternative means of payment. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number of customers disconnected on a Number of prepayment meters installed on a warrant visit warrant visit Electricity 2002 818 18,210 2003 1,377 16,857 January-September 2004 565 14,064 Gas 2002 21,633 18,093 2003 15,836 13,202 January-September 2004 1,984 6,763 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

428 c872-3W; 204116;204117

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Energy supply Electricity Disconnections Powers of entry Natural gas Magistrates' courts Meters Utilities

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk