Conclusion 30

Broadband services play an important role in allowing citizens to participate actively in the modern economy.83 In the telecoms sector, there is no organisation with statutory responsibility for providing free independent advice to consumers, when this does exist for energy and water customers. Citizens Advice told us that, as the statutory advocate 79 C&AG’s Report, figure 2 80 Letter from the Interim CEO of Ofwat relating to Regulating water, energy and broadband, dated 13 July 2026 81 HM Government, A New Vision for Water, 20 January 2026, p. 31 82 Letter from the Interim CEO of Ofwat relating to Regulating water, energy and broadband, dated 13 July 2026 83 C&AG’s Report, para 1 20 for energy, it provides over £25 million of benefits to energy customers every year.84 Citizens Advice said that this provision does not currently exist within the telecoms sector, and that people who encounter problems with their broadband provider are missing out on support.85 Martin Lewis told us that switching is a key to securing the best deals in the broadband market, which is something that vulnerable consumers can find particularly challenging.86 84 Q 17 85 Q 17 86 Q 18, 19 21