Ed Miliband backs secret court hearings to give energy firms warrants to break into homes

Thousands of households could still face forced entry into their homes to install prepayment meters under a secretive court process backed by ministers and senior judges.

Critics have warned vulnerable families are continuing to be failed behind closed doors.

Senior judges and Ed Miliband's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have backed a secret court process that allows utility companies to get warrants to force entry into people's homes.

The system allows energy firms to enter properties to install prepayment meters, with magistrates making decisions behind closed doors instead of in open court.

Baroness Carr and Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring have both defended the current system. Speaking at her annual press conference in March, Baroness Carr said magistrates were "applying the law as it exists".

It emerged late last year that magistrates had approved large batches of warrants using written evidence they had not personally reviewed.

The Government has also signalled support for the current arrangements, with a departmental spokesperson saying the courts were following "standard procedure".

The controversy follows a scandal that engulfed major energy suppliers including British Gas, Scottish Power and OVO Energy during 2022 and 2023, when it came to light that tens of thousands of prepayment meters had been forcibly installed in properties across the country.

Those affected included vulnerable individuals and families living in poverty, prompting widespread public anger that led the then-Conservative administration to halt the practice.

In response to the outcry, Judge Goldspring introduced tightened procedures in April 2024 aimed at strengthening the warrant application process.

Under these new rules, energy suppliers must provide property occupiers with a minimum of 10 days' notice before seeking a warrant, attempt to make contact at least 10 times prior to approaching the courts, and wait until at least one month has elapsed since the most recent unpaid bill.

However, the Chief Magistrate's guidelines explicitly permitted magistrates to continue hearing these applications in private sessions rather than requiring open court proceedings.

A rare glimpse into how the system operates came during a private hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in November 2024, when a journalist was granted access to observe proceedings.

A debt recovery agent presented more than 100 properties where warrants for forced entry were being requested, dialling into the hearing by telephone.

The magistrate selected just 10 applications for detailed examination, discovering that two failed to satisfy the legal requirements around notifying occupiers about potential warrants.

After the debt agency withdrew those two applications, a further two were checked and approved, at which point the magistrate rubber-stamped the entire remaining batch without investigating whether similar failures existed among the other applications.

Crucially, the court had no access to the underlying evidence supporting each individual application, instead relying entirely on the verbal assurances of the debt agent.

Judge Goldspring's subsequent review acknowledged that courts "do not independently verify information presented to them", stating the judicial role is confined to assessing material brought before them rather than conducting independent investigations.

Campaign groups are now demanding that ministers use the forthcoming Energy Independence Bill, anticipated to feature in the next King's Speech, to overhaul the outdated court processes.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: "Court cases involving vulnerable energy customers are still being heard behind closed doors and decided in bulk. If the Chief Magistrate does not see a problem with this, then it is time for ministers to act."

He called for the legislation to "remove the threat of forced prepayment meters for households unable to pay their energy bills", arguing that reforms to procedures dating back to the 1950s are urgently needed.

Mr Francis added: "Households in energy debt are not there through choice, they are struggling because of five years of sky-high energy costs and an oil and gas industry generating extraordinary profits that ultimately end up on people's bills."

A Government spokesperson defended the current system, stating: "We expect suppliers and their representatives to comply with strict rules on applying for prepayment meters. Vulnerable people must never be targeted and every single case brought must be given opportunity to be challenged in court."