Speeches by Crichton.

“You were very lucid about the up-front costs of this investment, but are the Government being up-front about that? All we hear is, “This investment will reduce your bills,” but it is actually going to increase their bills.”

“There is also a national expert advice scheme in Scotland. Could we benefit from that in England?”

“That is interesting for communities and consumers. They see the glossy brochures, the consultations and the focus groups from big companies, but they think, “You are doing it because you are going to make a big profit.” Is there another way of communicating this transition to people, or a way that it will be trusted?”

“You were very lucid about the up-front costs of this investment, but are the Government being up-front about that? All we hear is, “This investment will reduce your bills,” but it is actually going to increase their bills.”

“You mentioned earlier a scheme in Scotland.”

“That is exactly where I was going next. You talked about changing the performance rating of houses to being a carbon rating, and it rang a distant bell from evidence that we had some months ago about green mortgages, so that mortgages are more easily accessible if you had upgraded your house.”

“To the A75 and the A77, add the A9, which is the link from the Highlands to Scotland. For 25 years we have been waiting for it to be dualled; the SNP has failed to do that. The Scottish Government cannot make the ferries work and they cannot make the road work. Can the Secretary of State push them into action?”

“Do you have any powers that you can use to make sure that suppliers do what the ombudsman wants them to do?”

“Ed, Jonathan, naming names or without naming names, do you have repeat offenders? Is there any evidence that some suppliers just do not listen to you and do not remedy?”

“Is there any way to make suppliers behave properly to resolve customer disputes and make sure that the customer comes first?”

“It is a massive industry to regulate. Does Ofgem need a bigger stick?”

“Is there any way to make suppliers behave properly to resolve customer disputes and make sure that the customer comes first?”

“It is a massive industry to regulate. Does Ofgem need a bigger stick?”

“Do you have any powers that you can use to make sure that suppliers do what the ombudsman wants them to do?”

“You mentioned that it costs them to go to the ombudsman and also it costs their reputation. Why do you not just name and shame the ones who do not comply?”

“Thank you all for coming in. To get back to something you said to Melanie Onn, Ed, about the escalating series of penalties, you have to help me out. Suppliers are legally bound to implement your remedies within 28 days but some of them do not. What percentage do not, and can you tell me again what the escalating scale…”

“Thank you all for coming in. I will pick up on what Katie mentioned about the ombudsman and the structure of the ombudsman. I will do that with you first, Alex. First of all, thank you for the work citizens advice bureaux do throughout the land. They have great services and they deal with the nightmare of overbilling, …”

“Would you support what Katie, or Katie’s organisation, has said about putting the ombudsman on a statutory basis?”

“Katie, it is surprising that it is not on a statutory footing. How does the protection of energy consumers through the ombudsman compare with other areas?”

“What surprised me when we started reading into this is that the ombudsman is funded by the very companies it rules on. There is quite a high level of low-cost resolution, which saves the companies money and saves the ombudsman hassle, I guess, when it has only 380 staff to deal with a large number of complaints. Are co…”