Involuntarily installation of prepayment meters

That this House notes with concern the significant increase in the number of households being involuntarily moved onto prepayment meters; is alarmed by reports that since July 2021 nearly half a million warrants have been issued allowing energy firms to force entry into the UK’s poorest homes, and that at one court in the North of England, magistrates signed off a single batch of 496 utility warrants in just three minutes and 51 seconds as a debt agent representing several major energy firms dialled in by telephone; recognises the injustice that the 4.5 million UK households on prepayment meters face higher average annual bills than those on direct debit; notes that Citizens Advice report an unprecedented number of people who cannot afford to top up their prepayment meter, leaving them facing a choice between being pushed deeper into debt or self-disconnecting; further notes the concerns raised by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition that energy suppliers are using prepayment meter installations under warrant to disconnect indebted customers by the back door; believes that suppliers need to be supporting customers in debt; and calls on the Government to ban the forcible installation of prepayment meters this winter and end the indefensible prepayment meter premium that sees the poorest households paying the highest prices.