Found: households that spend more than 5% of their disposable income (ie post housing costs) on their water bill

Found: with the Department for Work and Pension so that customers receive an annual discount on their water bill

Found: Measuring water poverty and the success of our support We measure water poverty as water bill charges

Found: The full calculation, taken from Ofwat PR24 guidance, is: Water Bill / Equivalised Net Household Income

Found: whether a household spends more than 5% of household income (excluding housing costs) on their water bill

Found: extent of water poverty in our area by identifying the proportion of customers whose average dual water bill

Found: builds on this success with a £200 million investment to ensure every household can afford their water bill

Found: We have not touched on it, but currently one in five households cannot afford their water bill and

Found: Unlike some other eNGOs, WildFish recognises that, given where we find ourselves today, it will the water bill

Found: ) Act paved the way for fairer and more consistent support to ensure everyone can afford their water bill

Found: Consumer Council for Water’s (“CCW”) definition, where a customer is in water poverty if their water bill

Found: The findings are based on a nationally representative online survey of 2,367 water bill payers in England

Found: region who we support with a whole host of support mechanisms to help them afford not just their water bill

Found: region who we support with a whole host of support mechanisms to help them afford not just their water bill

Found: it either a ‘constant struggle’ or a struggle from ‘time to time’ to keep up with paying their water bill

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that water bill increases provide value for money to consumers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030.This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector.

These bill rises equate to around £3 additional per month on average before inflation. This will pay to fix crumbling infrastructure, which will dramatically reduce sewage spills and lead to cleaner rivers, lakes and seas.

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Whilst bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways, we fully understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing. We are pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills.

The Government expects water companies to put robust support measures in place for customers to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported and is working with industry to keep current support schemes under review to ensure that customers are sufficiently supported.

Furthermore, the Government expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to this end.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of water bill increases in the Thames Valley region on (a) consumers and (b) low income households.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under the Conservatives, our sewage system crumbled. They irresponsibly let water companies divert customers’ money to line the pockets of their bosses and shareholders. The public are right to be angry after they have been left to pay the price of Conservative failure.

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Whilst bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways, we fully understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing and are pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills. The Government expects water companies to put robust support measures in place for customers to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country, including the Thames Valley, are supported.

Water companies have more than doubled the number of customers that will receive help with their bills through social tariffs, from 4% to 9% by 2030, and the Government is working with industry to keep current support schemes under review to ensure that customers are sufficiently supported.

Furthermore, the Government expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to this end.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the headline water bill for the 2024 price review period includes the cost of (a) direct procurement for customer and (b) specified infrastructure projects regulations schemes.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The development costs of funding Direct Procurement for Customer (DPC) schemes and Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) projects have been included in company business plans, as set out in Ofwat’s Major Projects Appendix. Funding is set out at individual project level and is identified as a DPC or SIPR (please see page 9). Almost all the schemes are funded via DPC and these account for £2.1 billion of development funding in PR24, and circa £50 billion whole life costs.

DPC is funded separately to enhancement expenditure. The capital costs of DPC will be spread over time and funded in addition to customer bill impacts forecast through the business plan submissions. DPC costs in the main will not occur in the next investment period (2025-2030), as DPC costs are passed through to customers once assets become operational.

Customer bills between 2025 and 2030 will include funding for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities (delivered via DPC) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel (delivered via SIPR). Thames Water customer bills have included impacts from this scheme since 2015.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current level of bad debt in the water sector and what plans they have to reduce that debt.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The occupier of a property has a legal responsibility to pay the water bill of that property. Water sector bad debt is money owed to water companies which customers are failing to pay off.

This Government expects all water companies to proactively engage with supporting their customers and to put robust support in place to help customers make payments on any outstanding debt.

Between 2019 and 2024 bad debt cost the sector £2.205 billion. Under Ofwat’s PR24 Final Determinations, companies have committed to contributing £197 million of funding to reduce the number of households in debt.

Found: Water Bill 2024-25

We want the Government to review regulation of water companies through Ofwat. We feel that Ofwat need stronger powers to stop any water bill hikes unless companies show service and environmental improvements.

Found: We feel that Ofwat need stronger powers to stop any water bill hikes unless companies show service and

Abolish National Insurance contributions & added-on taxes. Increase the number of tax bands, the first starting at 6.5% for incomes of £20000 & the top set at 49.5% for incomes over £2million. Increase the income tax personal allowance to consider the average rent, utilities and council tax.

Found: Average monthly rent is £1271 whilst yearly average utilities is £1800, water bill £445 & council tax

Water bills and council tax are being looked at to increase by more than 5% with most families already struggling. The councils waste money every year and water bill hikes are down to water companies lack of investing and paying shareholders instead of spending wisely

Found: The councils waste money every year and water bill hikes are down to water companies lack of investing

Found: The 2024 survey consisted of 4,952 telephone interviews with household water bill payers, which took

Found: In many cases they are also responsible for water bill payments.

Found: The Independent Water Commission must now drive systemic reform, leading to a stronger water bill later

Found: For example, her water bill had increased by £20 a month and her weekly food shop from £100 to £130.

Found: last couple of years (energy and utility bills, food, petrol/diesel, TV license, Council Tax, water bill

Found: a Citizens Advice study said that they would find it difficult to afford the average 2025/26 water bill

Found: good example of sharing costs to deliver shared outcomes between partners and value for money for water bill

Found: Five communications were tested, including a household water bill, a car insurance renewal, and a monthly

Found: to pay Paul and then paying Peter next but not Paul… I’ve fallen behind [on] my council tax and water bill

Found: A17 Warm Home Discount (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) A17 WaterSure and water bill

Found: the move to clean heating. 8 LOWER TAXES & CHARGES Scotland England Wales Average Household Water Bill

Found: According to the report, this would permanently add between £30 and £90 to a typical household water bill

Found: Our waste water bill is the second highest at £306 (Average £241) and this is linked to the fact that

Found: The body of the Bill is compatible with the aspirations of WG under their Water Bill.

Found: So, yes, the water Bill is a very good case in point there, where there's clearly read across here in

Found: social tariff for water and to make it easier for people experiencing hardship in paying their water bill

Our rivers are crying out for help. We do not have long before it will be too late to save them.
For too long, legislators, regulators and polluters have talked about protecting our rivers but nothing meaningful is ever done.
We are calling on Members of the Senedd to commit to producing a Clean Water Bill for Wales.

Found: The Clean Water Bill will: • Set an ambitious framework of legally binding targets for biodiversity

Found: Once a customer has paid their water bill for six months, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water pays off 50% of their

Found: Draft Water Bill ...................................................................................

Found: pensioners will feel very frustrated by today’s speech, particularly with yet more council tax and water bill

Found: Water Bill ..........................................................................................