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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department provides guidance to water companies on best practice for debt collection.

Guidance on best practice for debt collection by water companies was published in May 2022 by Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, in its Paying Fair Guidelines. These guidelines include best practice principles and minimum expectations for the provision of support to customers who are in debt and to those who are facing debt recovery action.