4. Mr. Andy StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many customers of British Gas were disconnected for debt during the last financial year.
§ 9. Mr. LesterTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many customers of British Gas were disconnected for debt during the last financial year.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThis is a matter for British Gas. However, I am delighted that the number of British Gas customers disconnected for debt is now lower than at any time since records were first kept in 1977.
Mr. StewartI warmly welcome my right hon. Friend's reply as it shows beyond doubt that privatised British Gas is superior in all respects to that which went before it in the days of nationalisation. That reply also refutes the Labour party's allegation that British Gas puts profits before consumers.
§ Mr. MorrisonI entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I know that it is unpleasant for Opposition Members to 7 admit that the privatised British Gas is a great success. The number of disconnections, calculated on a yearly basis, to September last year was some 23,200, which is about half the number disconnected in the year before British Gas was privatised. The fall in the number of disconnections, let alone the comparative price of gas, demonstrates that British Gas is a success story.
§ Mr. Charles WardleWhat steps has my right hon. Friend taken to ensure that pensioners are reminded of the new British Gas code of practice and to explain to them that since privatisation, gas standing charges have increased by less than the increase in the cost of living?
§ Mr. MorrisonMy hon. Friend will be aware that British Gas has consulted all 17 million of its customers and that it is making them aware of the services that it offers—that number includes, of course, pensioners. In the past five years standing charges have fallen in real terms by some 33 per cent. and, since privatisation, they have fallen by about 18 per cent. That is a good record.
§ Mr. Simon HughesI welcome the Minister's figures, but are there are any further plans to ensure that the particularly vulnerable, pensioners and the mentally ill, have an opportunity to register that vulnerability or to get someone to register it on their behalf, or will the industry provide a mechanism whereby vulnerable customers can be identified? In that way, they could be protected against accidental disconnection as a result of their inability to deal with reminders or any paperwork. Such things happen. The new arrangements could result in a further reduction in the disconnection rate for good reason.
§ Mr. MorrisonI am glad that the hon. Gentleman welcomes the figures and I know that in the past two and a half years that I have answered questions on this subject, he has been concerned with it. The figures demonstrate that British Gas is concerned to ensure that such small, select groups are properly catered for and looked after. I regret to say that, every now and then, one or two people may slip through the net, but every effort is being made by British Gas.
§ Mr. ViggersDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the last thing that British Gas wants to do is to cut off a consumer and, therefore, a customer? Sensitive arrangements are now in hand, however, and Southern Gas ensures that there is a minimum period of 77 days from the date of the first bill to the disconnection. Those arrangements also include counselling, when British Gas seeks to discuss the situation with the customer. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the message that should go from the House is that anyone in difficulty with his gas bill should please get in touch with his gas board?
§ Mr. MorrisonI entirely agree with my hon. Friend. The staff at the gas showrooms and offices that I have visited are most sympathetic towards their customers and are at pains to try to point out the procedures that are available to them.