THEWLISS CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT PREPAYMENT CUSTOMERS

SUNAK URGED TO SCRAP FORCED INSTALLATION OF PREPAYMENT METERS
 
Alison Thewliss has called on the Government to support prepayment customers following a cross-party letter to the Government urging a ban on forced installation of prepayment meters.
 
The cross-party letter, set up by the APPG on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, has been signed by 40 MPs across a number of parties and has expressed “deep concern” for the UK’s poorest families.
 
Campaign groups and charities have also called for urgent action, with Citizens Advice warning last week that 3.2 million people ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year due to not being able to afford topping up.
 
The letter comes ahead of Grant Schapps, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, being questioned in the Commons on Tuesday about the meters.
 
Commenting, Alison Thewliss MP said:
 
“I echo the views of this letter and urge the Government to act immediately to support the most vulnerable constituents in my constituency. It is clear that this UK Tory Government are falling well short of the mark when it comes to the support being provided already.
 
“This is another shameful policy being introduced by the UK Tory Government, and it sickens me that this decision has been agreed on in the first place.
 
“Both this letter and my colleague Anne McLaughlin’s Ten-Minute Rule Bill on Pre-Payment Meters (Self-Disconnection) highlight the need for immediate action from this Tory Government.
 
“People across my constituency should not be forced onto these prepayment meters, particularly during this difficult cost-of-living crisis. Companies should not be granted the opportunity to put their customers in an inhumane position to choose between heating their homes or feeding their children.
 
“The Government must ban the forced installation of prepayment meters and move vulnerable people off these meters immediately. If the Government does not provide financial support now, then families across the country will be forced into unnecessary poverty.”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.