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 promote water saving measures to ensure that water use is conserved, particularly by people living in poverty, to reduce the cost of water bills.

On 1 July 2021 we published a Written Ministerial Statement setting out measures that we will take forward to empower households to reduce their water consumption.

In areas classified as being in water stress by the Environment Agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-stressed-areas-2021-classification) local authorities can require new housing to be built to 110 litres per person per day.

Most water companies already offer free water efficiency audits as part of their affordability measures, to help households reduce their water demand and therefore their bills.

Water companies are also actively promoting the full range of their support measures to help households struggling to pay their bills. These includes bill discount schemes such as Watersure and social tariffs, payment holidays, adjusting payment plans and getting support for customers on managing their personal finances.