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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) what estimate she has made of the proportion of the £104 billion investment package that will be funded through higher customer bills rather than through water company capital investment and (b) what safeguards will be put in place to protect consumers from bill increases linked to the £104 billion investment programme.

The Government has secured a record £104 billion investment package to upgrade England’s water infrastructure by 2030. This investment will be funded through a combination of water company capital investment and customer bills, but the precise split cannot yet be confirmed. Affordability must be at the core of any future investment plans, and proposed bill impacts will be assessed through the statutory impact assessment for the Water Reform Bill.

The Government have already taken action to protect customers. Funding for vital infrastructure is now ringfenced so it can only be spent on upgrades that benefit consumers and the environment. Where companies fail to deliver promised investment, they will be required to return money to customers through lower bills.

Alongside this, we are strengthening safeguards for households, including reforms to WaterSure, expanding social tariff support, and introducing a new independent Water Ombudsman to ensure complaints are resolved quickly and fairly.