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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of water companies’ environmental and service performance on water bills.

Ofwat’s outcome delivery incentives (ODIs) ensure that, where performance commitments are not met, companies must reimburse customers through lower water bills (known as ‘underperformance payments’) in the next financial year. As a result, for the draft determination of ODI payments for 2024-25, Ofwat has instructed companies to return over £260m to customers. This will be returned through bill adjustments.

Government is also taking forward a programme of reform to ensure that the water system better delivers outcomes for customers in a way that is efficient, fair and affordable.

We are working with industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported. This includes strengthening support for vulnerable households through reforms to WaterSure, the statutory affordability scheme for low‑income households with high essential water use. We also expect water companies to ensure customers know what support schemes are available and how to access them as needed.