They take 220 a month on direct debit so well covered for the years use and in credit by 700 pounds.

Stop paying by DD Bonny Geoff and have the money in your bank. These thieving suppliers must be holding (and getting interest on) billions of customers' money.
I'm with EDF for gas and electricity and they email me once a quarter to send my meter readings, then email a bill and I pay it online. They offer me a reduction if I pay by direct debit but the saving is less than I can get by having the money invested.

The upside of inflation is the increasing interest rates on savings which on just my cash ISAs are generating an extra £350 a month versus when inflation was virtually zero percent. Although it doesn't completely match the increased cost of living it does narrow the gap more than if I had given it to EDF.