Speeches by Crichton.

“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…”

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

“Far from feeling that it is fair, consumers told Radio 4’s “Money Box” that they feel bullied and threatened when they make complaints. Are we doing enough to stop energy suppliers carrying out that kind of behaviour? If you talk about regulation, the regulator needs muscle, which means financial penalties. Should ther…”

“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 …”

“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?”

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

“Far from feeling that it is fair, consumers told Radio 4’s “Money Box” that they feel bullied and threatened when they make complaints. Are we doing enough to stop energy suppliers carrying out that kind of behaviour? If you talk about regulation, the regulator needs muscle, which means financial penalties. Should ther…”

“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 …”

“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…”

“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.”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for raising this subject and particularly for referring to the workforce at Ferguson Marine, who have lost out on that small vessel replacement programme, sending 170 jobs down the Swanee. Those workers were political pawn…”

“Jake and Zoë, you talked about the depth of professional knowledge there already is in the community sector. Is there not an argument for taking that knowledge and turning it into a community energy unit within GB Energy that helps other communities that do not have that capacity?”

“Do you think there should be a derogation, then, for schemes that have a community element or even a 100% community element?”

“A 20% offer to get GB Energy money and grid connections more quickly as a community element. Jake, what is your view?”

“—and that there should be a mandatory approach. If GB Energy is going to be investing in lots of these schemes, should there be a minimum obligation for community share in schemes that GB Energy finances?”

“Basically, you are saying the guidelines approach has not worked—”