More fundamentally, we’re concerned that the relief scheme is just one part of what’s needed to tackle the problem of people simply not being able to afford their energy bills. Alongside much-needed debt write-off, we also need to see a driving up of debt collection standards, as well as an appropriate form of social tariff for low-income households to prevent debt from building up in the same way in the future. Without these, the debt relief scheme alone is like relying on a sticking plaster to heal a broken bone.
We’ll be looking in more detail at utilities arrears and affordability in our new policy research, just getting under way. By examining the evidence and experiences of our clients across energy, water and…