Found: I’ve had help with topping up my electricity meter, managed to halve my monthly water bill and now been

Found: No one in the HD area need fear their water bill – we offer discounts of up to 70 percent for those

Found: No one in the Severn Trent area need fear their water bill – we offer discounts of up to £390, which

Found: This is reflective of the size of the average annual water bill - which for United Utilities was £441

Found: investment period, we have increased the level of help to customers to the value of over £375m worth of water bill

Found: enforcement orders were taken forward, representing 0.00087% of households for whom we provide their water bill

Found: Anonymous “Found the high cost of the water bill much too high.

Found: Obviously, the other big commitment we have in terms of parliamentary time is around the water Bill.

Found: There is a cost of living crisis and we know that the water bill increases that everybody has had have

Found: Yes, it is part of the water White Paper so we would expect to see it as part of the forthcoming water bill

Found: We are obviously very interested in the water Bill because we can provide unilateral advice, as we did

Found: I also want to point out that our water bill has nearly doubled in 2025 despite being what SEW calls

Found: Water Notices £180 23,557 4,240,260 13,992,010 * These payments compare to an average annual water bill

Found: be closely involved in the scrutiny of next steps in relation to the White Paper and the next water Bill

Found: be closely involved in the scrutiny of next steps in relation to the White Paper and the next water Bill

Found: That should not be borne by taxpayers; it should not be borne by water bill payers; it should be borne

Found: of retailers, if you simply engage with a customer to reduce their water consumption and their water bill

Found: It may be a smallish saving on your water bill, but hot water is one of the largest costs for most

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her department plans to establish the public health task force recommended by the Independent Water Commission prior to the introduction of the Water Reform Bill.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Through an upcoming Water Bill, we intend to progress an ambitious, coherent reset of the legislative framework.

As we take this forward, we will work in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure public health is considered broadly in our new water frameworks and regulations and to consider evidence gaps. Protecting and improving public health is a key consideration of the Government’s once-in-a-generation water reforms.

A new Public Health Water Taskforce, led by the Chief Medical Officer for England, will be a key part of Government’s reforms to the water system. The Taskforce will provide independent and technical advice on public health risks from water and opportunities to improve treatment and protection.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on how Ofwat calculates the cap on which water companies can increase water bills for customers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Ofwat published methodology for calculating the price controls that cap water bill increases. Ofwat sets these caps independently through its five‑year price review, assessing companies’ plans and the efficient costs needed to meet Government‑set service and environmental expectations. Money approved for infrastructure can only be spent on upgrades that benefit customers and the environment, and cannot be diverted to bonuses, dividends or executive pay, with requirements for companies to return money to customers if they fail to meet performance commitments. The Government has also secured £104 billion of private investment through Price Review 2024, the largest investment programme in the history of the water sector.

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 her Department's White Paper entitled A New Vision for Water, published on 20 January 2026, if she plans to publish the Transition Plan on a sitting day of the House this year.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Transition Plan will be published in 2026. It will set clear direction on priorities, sequencing, and engagement, giving the sector confidence as reforms begin and ahead of the introduction of an upcoming water bill.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of financial support available to customers experiencing water bill debt in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure that the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. The price controls set as part of Price Review 2024 (PR24) came into effect on 01 April 2025.

As part of this approach companies are required to publish their charges before each financial year in their Charges Scheme. Ofwat sets charging rules that companies must follow when developing their charging schemes and differences in charges for different services need to reflect differences in costs. Their licences also prohibit companies from setting charges which show undue discrimination or preference. Ofwat does not approve companies’ charges, but they have the powers to intervene if they are or could be breaching the rules or licence conditions.

Water companies must also comply with Ofwat's Paying Fair principles which includes companies needing to make information about services and bills more understandable for all customers – and make it available in a way that best meets their needs.

The Government has already announced that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. When money for investment is not spent, companies will be required to refund customers via lower water bills, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.

We understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing and we are pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills; water companies must ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills. Moreover, the Government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported.

We also expect all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them if they need help. All companies have measures in place such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.

The Government has acted decisively by consulting on reforms to WaterSure – the statutory scheme which caps bills for low-income customers with necessary higher water usage and by introducing new and increased compensation for companies to pay customers in the event of unforeseen disruption to supply.

Before the end of the year, the Government will publish a Water White Paper bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. Together with the building blocks the Government has already put in place, this will mark the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.

Many water companies have increased prices of supply without reinvestment in the system. Raw sewage has been pumped into the environment where the clean-up is again billed to customers as price increases. Bonuses and dividends should not come from such fixed or standing charges.

Found: Disallow fixed charges on fresh water and wastewater on water bill.

Found: Some companies will use the average value of everyone’s water bill while others will only use metered

Found: A water bill is then due to be laid in summer 2026.

Found: A water bill is then due to be laid in summer 2026.

Found: Some reforms will be taken forward immediately, whilst others will form the foundations of a new water bill

Found: Some reforms will be taken forward immediately, whilst others will form the foundations of a new water bill

Found: providers: “I then found out that when I was in supported accommodation they'd never set up my water bill

Found: struggling to pay for their water bills • In 2024/25, 20% of bill payers report struggling with their water bill

Found: The average water bill increases expected under the CMA’s final decision include some changes made by

Found: system; and Mr Rodriguez’ evidence that he had moved to a different address and having produced a water bill

Found: However, in July 2003, the Westminster Government introduced a fluoridation amendment to the Water Bill

Found: in the building (mainly used in the toilets) was down around 70%- a reduction reflected in our water bill

Found: building (mainly used in the toilets) was down approximately 70% - a reduction reflected in our water bill

Found: “My water bill was huge, and they were so helpful — they made it affordable.”

Found: work with the UK Government to seek additional legislative competence and bring forward a new Water Bill

Found: to work with the UK Government to seek additional legislative competence and bring forward a new Water Bill

Found: closely with the UK Government to seek additional legislative competence and bring forward a new Water Bill

Found: Once a customer has paid their water bill for six months, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water pays off 50% of their