I know that this is also very popular with people throughout the country. Again, it deals with obligations on the suppliers of utilities and the way in which the regulators would actually set about ensuring that all the provisions set out in proposed new clause are met. They define what the duties should be in relation to these utilities. Once again, I am grateful for the support I have been given by supporters of the Keep Me Posted campaign around the country in drafting the amendment.
The use of digital information is not just a matter for old crones who cannot actually operate the technology. Although I am one of them, I nevertheless realise that there are many who can but who have the same problems. I am hoping that all the various obligations that this amendment would put on the suppliers of utilities, being a little more prescriptive than the previous one, are acceptable. That applies absolutely more than ever to subsection (4) of the proposed new clause:
“Utilities suppliers shall provide consumers with the option of paying bills by cheque”,
as well as not levying a charge. I went into that part of the new clause in some depth recently when I looked up some old bills. I could see that in 2005, the postage cost 45 pence. It is now 52 pence, but the actual amount that you have to pay can be anything upwards from £6, although it is less than that for some of them. The postal costs of sending out those letters are 22p, not 45p or 52p. My noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe said in reply to my noble friend Lord Hodgson’s good amendment on this point that it is not for the Government to tell companies how they should organise their costs. I entirely agree; it is for the regulators to do that. It is not a thing for Governments but the regulators.
Many people feel dismay when they receive these extra charges because some 7 million people do not have access to broadband. They are being fined for something they have no hold over whatever. Everyone objects to being charged for something that has been their right for many years. Suddenly they have to pay something extra, and it affects in particular the elderly and those who rely on carers. It is not only those
people who are affected, although they are obviously the most important; it affects many people who do not have the computer skills they need because they say they cannot take anything in until they have typed it from the computer on to a piece of paper. That applies through all levels of education and age. I am not going to name names, but one of the most senior physicians in the country expressed exactly that view and said to me: “Can I write to someone about this? Who should I tell?”. I said: “You’ve told me”, and so have many other people.
It is a cruel policy to fine people in this way. It is a form of fine for being unable to do something digitally, perhaps due to other conditions. The subsections in the amendment deal particularly with each problem. It does not involve huge ramifications or costs for the Government. It does not even have marginally big costs for the industry; so, once again, I consider the amendment to be crucial. I am sorry to have to bring all of them out like this, one after another in a non-yielding way, which is not my normal way. I therefore hope that noble Lords will support me.