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Fuel Poverty

I certainly recognise that my hon. Friend is, as usual, three or four pages ahead of me. I want to mention the issue to which he refers. The development of smart metering is very important, allied to other measures to put an emphasis on educating all of us, as householders, about the importance of these things. Understandably, much has been made of payment differentials and the problem for prepayment customers. That is a more complex area than it appears at first sight, because when we examine the data and the empirical evidence, we see that most poor people—easily the most—are not on prepayment meters. My brief tells me that only 5 per cent. of elderly people are on prepayment meters, so let us not be simplistic about the issue, because if we exert pressure to help the prepayment meter customer, that will be, in part, at the expense of other customers, many of whom are on low incomes. That said, I share the concern that the differential is now far too great. I have myself put pressure on the company chairmen to examine the issue—I have written to them. I am pleased that EDF and Scottish and Southern have equalised their standard credit and prepayment prices for electricity, while Scottish Power offers prepayment customers a lower price for both fuels than that paid by standard credit customers. We are seeing movement in what I judge to be the right direction, but this is a debate that I am very much engaged in now with the supply companies. We will continue to work with Ofgem to make it easier for customers to switch suppliers. A great deal of switching is going on. If people are concerned that they are being charged too much, considering switching is very important, but I think that I know enough about this subject to recognise that switching is easier said than done for some of the most vulnerable people, particularly if there is a record of debt payments. I want to discuss that matter further. I have met the chief executives of all the supply companies to talk about social tariffs. As a result of those discussions, energy suppliers have come forward with significant new investment of about £16 million, and I hope that that will be only the start of the story. We have had an important debate about this matter of great concern. I am proud of our record in government, but I am very concerned now about the impact of price increases on some of the most vulnerable, and I am absolutely determined that we make progress as soon as possible on this important issue on our social policy and energy policy agenda.