Andrew White, Senior Leader - Social Policy, CCW

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026?

I will share the latest findings from CCW on water affordability and levels of water poverty and what we feel needs to be done to support customers further given the context of rising water bills and other cost of living challenges.

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

I'm keen to hear about new opportunities for utilities to work together to help improve support to vulnerable customers.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

Customer trust is a major issue - and it can have a negative impact on the likelihood of customers reaching out for support. They just don't expect water companies to be able or willing to provide help.

Why is Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

It brings passionate and knowledgeable people together to share ideas and identify ways to solve problems, and make things better for customers, collectively.
 

Morven Lean, Head of Mental Health Accessible, Money & Mental Health

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week's Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026?

We want to support other delegates to recognise what parts of customer communications are challenging for people with mental health problems and how they can change them for better customer outcomes

Why is Utility Week's Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you? 

Utility Week's Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference is a real opportunity to learn from and inform utility providers about the key challenges and solutions to protect and support people in vulnerable situations

Vanessa Northam, Partnerships Director, StepChange

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026

Bringing in a range of insights and data from people who are significantly struggling to afford multiple bills, and financial commitments, based on consumers accessing StepChange’s services

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

What developments are happening to better support consumers

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

Demand is exceeding supply for debt advice and also solutions for people who do not have enough to afford life’s essentials

Why is Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you

Over 50% of people coming to StepChange have energy areas – we want to be part of the conversation as to how debt advice can support suppliers in engaging with their customers.

Katrina Flavell, Technical Specialist – Clean Water Networks, Yorkshire Water

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026? 

I’m looking forward to presenting some of the latest innovations in the water sector, which although many of our customers will never see or realise are there, have the potential to both improve service and reduce costs. 

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

I often think about customers a lot in the projects we undertake, but rarely have the opportunity to listen to cross-sector experts talking about the challenges customers experience, and the strategies being considered to address these. I hope this will inform my work in water innovation. 

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

Regulator barriers to innovation and change
 

Alex Wilkes, Customer Service Director, South Staffs Water

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026?

I'm looking forward to sharing ideas on how utilities can work more collaboratively to create a simpler, more joined-up experience for customers who need support. Too often, well-intentioned schemes can feel fragmented, so I’m passionate about exploring how we can reduce duplication, make support easier to access and ensure available funding reaches as many customers as possible. I believe we need to align our different organisational drivers (whether that’s customer satisfaction, social value, regulatory incentives, collections activities etc) around a common goal: delivering better outcomes for customers. Most importantly, I want to focus on sustainable, long-term solutions that help people improve affordability, build resilience and reduce the need for future debt support.

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

I'm excited to hear practical examples of what's working well and how successful approaches can be scaled, replicated and adopted across the sector. The challenges associated with affordability and debt are now a reality for many households, so I’m particularly interested in how organisations are embedding support into everyday customer service rather than treating it as a specialist intervention. Conferences like this provide an opportunity to learn from one another, challenge our thinking and identify partnerships that can deliver greater impact. Ultimately, I’m keen to explore ideas that make it easier for customers to access the help they need, when they need it.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

One of the greatest challenges facing utilities is rebuilding and strengthening customer trust. While companies are investing heavily in improving services and support, customers need to believe we genuinely understand their concerns and are working alongside them to address them. Trust can be a significant barrier to engagement, particularly for customers who may benefit most from affordability and vulnerability support. Demonstrating empathy, being transparent and consistently delivering on our promises will be critical to improving outcomes and confidence in the sector.

Why is Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

This conference provides a valuable space for open, honest conversations about some of the most important challenges facing our customers and industry. It brings together organisations that share many of the same goals, creating opportunities to exchange ideas, learn from best practice and build stronger partnerships. While it is important to discuss the bigger structural and strategic changes we face, I am equally keen to identify practical actions we can take now to improve customers' experiences in the short-term. For me, the real value lies in turning the talking into action and tangible improvements that will make a difference to people's lives.

Graham Scanlon, Head of Critical National Infrastructure, Atos

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026?

On the panel "Combatting consumer debt and ensuring no one is left behind," I'll bring an industry perspective on how payment innovation can help identify financial difficulty earlier and prevent avoidable debt before it builds, rather than only managing it after it occurs.  I'll talk about aligning payments to a customer's real income patterns and circumstances, using Open Banking data with full consent so customers stay in control, and share insights from our ongoing dialogue with Ofgem, DESNZ and HM Treasury on how technology and policy can work together to tackle the UK's growing energy and water debt burden.

What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

I'm looking forward to the sessions on Ofgem's Debt Relief Scheme and the one-year-on review of Ofwat's Cunliffe recommendations, to hear how regulators are balancing debt relief with fairness for paying customers.

What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

Household debt in energy and water is at record levels, and much of it is preventable rather than inevitable.  Trust in operators is also at an all-time low. Rigid, one-size-fits-all payment options don't reflect the reality that a significant proportion of the population has variable or unpredictable income.  At the same time, the industry needs to identify genuine financial vulnerability early and sensitively, without labelling or stigmatising customers, while regulation and technology both need to move at the same pace to make that possible.

Why is Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

It brings regulators, suppliers, consumer bodies and technology partners into the same room at a pivotal moment for the sector. For me personally, it's an opportunity to test our thinking against real frontline experience, and to keep building the cross-industry momentum needed to turn debt prevention from an aspiration into practice.

Georgie Richings, Management Consultant, Baringa

What can we expect from your contribution at Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026?

Our Baringa Team will be sharing practical insights on how utilities can strengthen support for those in vulnerable circumstances, whilst delivering sustainable outcomes for both customers and utilities. I will be discussing the customer debt landscape, and how utilities can adopt a more united stance on tackling household bill rises.
 
What are you most looking forward to hearing about at the conference?

We are particularly interested in hearing how organisations are using data, technology, and partnerships to support vulnerable customers more effectively, and how Water and Energy companies can work together to creatively refine approaches to tackling customer hardship. It will be valuable to understand how the industry is adapting to meet evolving customer needs and rising economic pressures.
 
What are the biggest challenges facing your industry at the moment, in your opinion?

We believe the biggest challenge faced by the industry continues to be the dichotomy of balancing increasing affordability pressures on customers in conjunction with the need to maintain resilient and sustainable services. Utilities are increasingly tackling cost pressures to ensure that support reaches those who need it most, whilst managing ongoing operational demands with ever-growing customer expectations .
 
Why is Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt Conference 2026 important to the industry and to you?

Baringa attend the conference each year, and we gain incredible value from learning how Utilities companies are supporting their most vulnerable customers, whilst managing growing expectations from customers and rises in total household bills. This shared understanding allows us collectively as an industry to stretch our perspective on innovative solutions to some of the sector’s most pressing challenges. It also presents a valuable opportunity to collaborate and network with peers, and contribute towards conversations that can yield positive outcomes for customers as well as the organisations we work closely with.