Speeches by Crichton.

“I mentioned electrical engineers, but are there any sub-sectors, any skills or any places—when I think of Aberdeen, I think of Grangemouth—or locations that the Government have to focus on when they are transitioning the workforce? Maybe this will be felt evenly across the country, certainly down to Tyneside, down that…”

“Katy, I am glad you have described how Offshore Energy UK is very proud of the workforce, and how the workforce is very proud of what they do. We are proud of them too. They have kept us secure for two generations, they have kept communities like mine afloat for two generations. But if they are going to transition, it …”

“David, as you have mentioned, we have a devolved set-up, and we will hopefully have some more devolution within England, but there is devolution among the four nations. How do you get people to cross from the south-east of England, where we have heard that there might be a concentration of trained, skilled workers, to …”

“I have a number of nuclear veterans in my Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency, as many colleagues do in their constituencies. What steps are Ministers taking to meet veterans, acknowledge their service and deal with the consequences of their service and their exposure to nuclear material?”

“Polly, can I jump in there?”

“With a bit of muscle. Martin Lewis talked about a “flaccid” ombudsman that does not really enforce. Is there a case to make it a statutory ombudsman?”

“That is one thing you would do to change their behaviour. What other two things would you do to make sure that these reforms go through and that suppliers are forced to serve consumers?”

“Sorry to interrupt, Minister, but Martin identified the problem: energy companies are incentivised to install them—to roll them out, sure—but not to make sure that they work.”

“Thank you, Minister, Jessica and Jane, for coming in. Tim Jarvis, who we heard from earlier, described a billing system where bills arrived on time and were readable, accurate and paid on time. We are a long way from that. The canary in the coalmine that you described is 60,000 consumers complaining to Citizens Advice …”

“Polly, can I jump in there?”

“That is one thing you would do to change their behaviour. What other two things would you do to make sure that these reforms go through and that suppliers are forced to serve consumers?”

“Stronger financial penalties? They have paid £5.5 million already and it does not seem to change their behaviour.”

“Apologies, Polly.”

“The Minister talked earlier about 60,000—”

“Polly, can I jump in there?”

“With a bit of muscle. Martin Lewis talked about a “flaccid” ombudsman that does not really enforce. Is there a case to make it a statutory ombudsman?”

“That is one thing you would do to change their behaviour. What other two things would you do to make sure that these reforms go through and that suppliers are forced to serve consumers?”

“Sorry to interrupt, Minister, but Martin identified the problem: energy companies are incentivised to install them—to roll them out, sure—but not to make sure that they work.”

“We heard from Martin Lewis that something like one in five smart meters simply do not work, because companies are incentivised to install them but not to repair them. Do you think energy suppliers are doing enough to fix that problem? What can we do to make sure that smart meters, which are meant to give us accurate bi…”

“We heard from Martin Lewis that something like one in five smart meters simply do not work, because companies are incentivised to install them but not to repair them. Do you think energy suppliers are doing enough to fix that problem? What can we do to make sure that smart meters, which are meant to give us accurate bi…”