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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Water White Paper, January 2026, p.31, how will the reform of the WaterSure scheme be funded, and whether there will be a cross-subsidy charged on household bills of residents who are not on the WaterSure scheme.

This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable and as such, is reforming the WaterSure support scheme. The regulations that provide for the scheme were made in 1999: The Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999. We will extend eligibility to more households where a medical condition is present and increase support for up to 180,000 existing WaterSure recipients who could see a lower bill cap.