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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase the level of accountability for water companies that fail to resolve billing disputes raised by hon. Members on behalf of constituents.

To rebuild trust It is vital that customers have assurance that their complaints will be resolved. That is why we will establish an independent, impartial, and accredited Water Ombudsman to ensure customer complaints and disputes are taken seriously and are resolved.

Alongside this, the Government is looking at strengthening the consumer advocacy function to provide a stronger voice for customers.