Since the start of the energy crisis, Fair By Design has been part of the ‘Help to Repay’ campaign, alongside Money Advice Trust and 12 other organisations. The campaign calls for the introduction of a ‘Help to Repay’ debt relief and repayment matching scheme to support people with unaffordable energy arrears.
We were therefore pleased to see Ofgem’s announcement of a consultation on such a scheme, set to launch in 2025, as part of a step towards tackling the growing energy debt crisis. At the same time, Ofgem has launched a consultation on improving debt standards so that anyone in debt can be sure they will be treated fairly no matter which supplier they are with.
Total energy debt now exceeds £3.8 billion – an increase of more than £2 billion over the last three years – leaving millions, particularly those on low incomes, struggling to keep up with payments. A ‘Help to Repay’ scheme could provide vital targeted support to up to 2.3m people who have fallen behind during the energy crisis, offering debt write-off and repayment matching of between £0.5-£1bn in total.
The campaign is part of our wider work to support low-income consumers with energy bills, which includes calling for the introduction of an energy social tariff to ensure affordable energy bills for everyone, and more generous support in the short term until such a social tariff can be put in place.
