Prepayment Meters

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:24 pm on 8 February 2023.

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Photo of Mike Hedges Mike Hedges Labour 3:24, 8 February 2023

The Minister has answered part of what I was going to raise, because the Minister is quite used to me talking about the problem of people having standing charges. I understand from The Observer last Sunday that standing charges can be up to 50p a day. Most of us don't consider having to spend a day without putting on any lights, without putting on any television, without putting on any heating. That is the life of a number of my constituents, where they have to not use any energy, and then when they do—. As one constituent told me—I've mentioned this to the Minister before and I'm going to keep on mentioning it—she had not used any energy for four days, she heated or warmed a tin of soup, and her energy costs went over £2 because she hadn't used any energy for four days. Does the Minister agree that we've got to get standing charges ended and that we need to get them ended now? Because what is happening is the poorest are paying more and more for less and less. It is a scandal; it is a scandal that should not have been allowed, and certainly one we need to bring to an end.