The petition of residents of Lancaster and Wyre,
Declares that residents in Lancaster and Wyre have been significantly impacted by the cost-of-living crisis; notes that Ofwat has proposed that bills should increase by an average of £19 per year between 2025 and 2030; and further declares that households are paying for the mistakes of the privatised UK water industry whilst company bosses are handed bonus payments.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to look into all appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of increases to water bills on households.
And the petitioners remain (etc.)—[Presented by Cat Smith, Official Report, 22 July 2024; Vol. 752, c. 494.]
[P003003]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy):
The Government would like to thank the petitioners for raising the issue of water bill increases in Lancaster and Wyre.
We understand the petitioners’ concerns over proposed customer bill rises and recognise that no one wants to see water bills go up—particularly during a cost of living crisis. The fact is that consumers have faced a situation of weakened regulation and failures to draw in the necessary investment. This has left our sewage system to crumble and we now have record levels of illegal sewage dumping in our rivers, lakes and seas. This is completely unacceptable. While the decision to increase bills is one for the independent water regulator, Ofwat, and not the Government, this Government fully expect the regulator to scrutinise the price review plans put forward to them by water companies and ensure best value for money for customers.
In the meantime, this Government are determined to fundamentally transform the water industry for the benefit of all. We have already announced immediate actions to end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses and we have set out a three-stage approach to cleaning up our waterways.
Week one water announcements
Within our first week of Government, we announced an initial package of reforms to protect customers’ bills and the environment and to give consumers new powers to hold companies to account. Our announcements included:
Ensure that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
This Government have been clear with Ofwat that new billpayer money must be ringfenced and used to improve and build vital infrastructure. Water companies will also place customers and the environment at the heart of their objectives. Companies have agreed to change their “articles of association”—the rules governing each company—to make the interests of customers and the environment a primary objective.
Consumers will gain new powers to hold water company bosses to account through powerful new customer panels. For the first time in history, customers will have the power to summon board members and hold water executives to account.
These measures seek to strengthen protections for water customers and put customers at the forefront of water company activities.
Special Measures Bill
In less than 70 days, we introduced our Water (Special Measures) Bill, that will boost accountability and begin the work of cleaning up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas. The Bill will bring much tougher regulation to the water sector and ensure water bosses are held to account. The Bill includes provisions which will make water bosses personally liable for wrongdoing; ban bonuses for CEOs and senior leaders unless high standards are met to protect the environment; boost the regulator’s powers to recover enforcement costs; and automatically fine companies that pollute our waterways.
This Bill is an initial downpayment after years of failure.
Reforming the sector
We will also outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the nation’s water system operates, tackle pollution, deliver a resilient water supply, boost investment and speed up delivery of infrastructure upgrades.
The Government will be carrying out a review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. We will invite views from a range of experts covering areas such as the environment, public health, consumers, investors, engineering and economics, and there will be a public consultation to test the proposals are robust and radical enough to clean up the pollution from our waterways.
We also understand the financial pressures hard-working families and pensioners are currently facing, especially as many people have been impacted by cost of living challenges. We are therefore pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills. All water companies offer affordability support for households who struggle to pay their bills in full including WaterSure and social tariffs, payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and financial advice referral arrangements.
We are moving at pace to transform our water sector and hold those in charge responsible.