Speeches by Reader.

“In terms of very recent work you have done, some of my colleagues in the House are now very obsessed with policy costs. Is that changing the views at all about renewables? Luke, have you seen any new data?”

“Luke, you touched on this earlier in terms of cost, but how do views among the UK population diverge on whether climate action needs to be taken immediately or delayed until economic conditions are better?”

“Can I ask one more quick question? I will start with Karen: in your broader work, are there any international examples of where Governments have this messaging right and have that buy-in from their citizens?”

“We have talked about the net zero and energy security narrative, but to what extent do you see nature protection and environmental benefits coming up in how people talk about the energy transition?”

“Banning things?”

“We have heard a general consensus among your panel and the previous panel that regional messaging is probably more effective than the UK Government leading on communications, but do you have any thoughts on how the Government can best work with local communities to communicate policies?”

“Amanda, do you think the UK Government are best placed to deliver communications, or should it be done through intermediaries?”

“Amanda, we heard in the previous panel that there is cross-political support for improving and insulating homes. A key part of communication is going to be advice. Do you think a national advice service—like we see in Scotland and Wales—could help with the transition in England and Northern Ireland?”

“In other inquiries that we are doing, we have frequently heard that the communication can be confusing for general consumers. There is so much that we talk to people about. Do you have any thoughts on how we get that balance right between simple messaging people can understand and making sure it is technically accurate…”

“I want to come back briefly to trusted sources. I was thinking about the role of national identity, because you have Climate Action Wales, Community Energy Scotland, and I was thinking about the question about the applicability to England. Do you think a similar thing that actually has the word “England” in it would bu…”

“To build on that, Sara, if we went into your organisation and looked at all your marketing strategies and plans since this started, would we see vulnerable people front and centre from the very beginning? It feels like this is a bolt-on at the end, as you are having to pick up the difficult stuff.”

“Just help me work this through in my head: I have a smart meter, but there is a wide area network problem, so it is not working, so my bills are inaccurate. But the issue is not me; it is the wide area network. If my bills are wrong, and I get back billed, get my bills increased, or go on to a different tariff, etc., s…”

“We have heard from Citizens Advice that there is an accountability gap—that it is unclear for people whether they go to DCC or their energy suppliers. Do you think that should be made clearer for people?”

“Yes. We are looking at technical performance and coverage, and we have heard through the evidence we have received that consumers have little recourse when their smart meter stops working due to faults on the wide area network. Is that true, and what is the process for resolving issues under such circumstances?”

“When you work with them, what do you do?”

“What are you doing for that group?”

“I will come to RTS in a moment. I want to talk more generally about people who are less digitally literate or have been mis-sold, I read a case study on the Citizens Advice website by Franc Kolar, who was told by the energy company the smart meter would work, and installed it in his basement. He assumed it was all fine…”

“To build on that, Sara, if we went into your organisation and looked at all your marketing strategies and plans since this started, would we see vulnerable people front and centre from the very beginning? It feels like this is a bolt-on at the end, as you are having to pick up the difficult stuff.”

“That is the target, but what about the structure of the programme? Did the energy companies choose which ones to fix first and where to focus the marketing?”

“Who decided what was the priority in the roll-out? I am guessing that, commercially, you will go for the low-hanging fruit and do the easy ones, and that vulnerable customers with RTS, particularly in rural areas, for instance in Scotland, have been left behind. We will potentially have people who will be unable to use…”