Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what requirements apply to South Staffs Water’s collection, retention and use of smart-meter consumption data; at what frequency household usage will be recorded; which third parties may receive identifiable or pseudonymised information; and whether customers will be able to access the same level of usage data used by the company for billing, leakage detection and demand-management purposes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies must comply with applicable data protection and privacy legislation when collecting and processing customer information. The collection, retention and operational use of smart meter data are matters for individual water companies, subject to relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what reduction in household water consumption South Staffs Water is required to achieve through universal metering; what the evidential basis is for the conclusion that moving an unmetered household to metered charging reduces demand by approximately 13%; and whether she plans to take steps to ensure the company will be required to publish actual consumption reductions separately from savings attributed to the detection of customer-side leaks.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
South Staffs Water's metering programme forms part of its wider demand management activities. Ofwat's PR24 framework sets expectations for demand reduction and monitors delivery against company commitments through its regulatory performance framework.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to require data-centre developers and operators to disclose their expected and actual annual water consumption.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current evidence suggests existing data centres in England account for just 0.2% of non-household demand. Defra is working across government and with the Environment Agency to better understand the sectors growth and reduce its impact, including by supporting rollout of smart meters in the non-household market.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the projected demand for water from data centres in each water-resource zone.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current evidence suggests existing data centres in England account for just 0.2% of non-household demand. Defra is working across government and with the Environment Agency to better understand the sectors growth and reduce its impact, including by supporting rollout of smart meters in the non-household market.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment Ofwat has made of South Staffs Water’s progress in reducing leakage; how the reported saving of one million litres per day from leaks repaired in 2025 compares with the company’s total daily leakage; and what proportion of the forecast supply-demand deficit is expected to be addressed through (a) company-side leakage reduction, (b) customer-side leak repairs and (c) reduced household consumption following compulsory metering.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
South Staffs Water has a target to reduce leakage by 17% during 2025-30. Ofwat assesses company performance through its regulatory reporting and performance framework, which includes leakage and demand management measures.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate Ofwat has made of the total cost of South Staffs Water’s universal metering programme; how much of that cost is funded through customer bills; what cost per installation was assumed in the company’s price determination; and what financial consequences will apply if the programme (a) exceeds its approved cost and (b) fails to deliver the forecast reduction in demand.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat has allowed £55 million for South Staffs Water's metering programme for 2025-30. The company is funded through Ofwat's price control framework. Ofwat monitors delivery against approved commitments and may apply financial incentives where performance falls short.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what protections water companies are required to provide to customers whose bills increase following compulsory meter installation; whether South Staffs Water is required to identify potentially eligible customers proactively for WaterSure, social tariffs and other affordability support; and whether the Department holds data on how many customers affected by South Staffs Water's universal metering programme have received each form of support.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The adequacy of South Staffs Water's metering programme is assessed through the company's statutory Water Resources Management Plan and regulatory oversight arrangements. Defra does not hold a published forecast of household meter installations by local authority and financial year. Detailed delivery assumptions are a matter for the company and regulators.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what requirements apply to water companies undertaking compulsory metering in areas designated as seriously water stressed in relation to (a) advance notice, (b) customer consultation, (c) access to private property, (d) internal installation, (e) reinstatement following works and (f) complaints and redress; and how compliance with those requirements is monitored.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The adequacy of South Staffs Water's metering programme is assessed through the company's statutory Water Resources Management Plan and regulatory oversight arrangements. Defra does not hold a published forecast of household meter installations by local authority and financial year. Detailed delivery assumptions are a matter for the company and regulators.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of South Staffs Water’s compulsory universal metering programme; and how many household meters the company is expected to install in each financial year from 2025–26 to 2034–35, by local-authority area.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The adequacy of South Staffs Water's metering programme is assessed through the company's statutory Water Resources Management Plan and regulatory oversight arrangements. Defra does not hold a published forecast of household meter installations by local authority and financial year. Detailed delivery assumptions are a matter for the company and regulators.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of South Staffs Water’s compulsory metering programme on household bills; and what information her Department holds on how many customers are expected to experience an annual bill increase of (a) less than £50, (b) £50 to £100, (c) £100 to £250 and (d) more than £250.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to a fair, affordable and accessible water system and are acting to protect vulnerable customers from rising bills, while balancing affordability with the need for investment to secure clean and reliable water services and improve the environment. Support Schemes, including WaterSure, social tariffs and debt assistance, are available for vulnerable customers.
Smart meters will provide customers in England with greater control over billing. The Government is working with Ofwat to monitor the impact smart meters will have on billing, as well as working with the Smart Water Meter Delivery Group (SWMDG) to ensure that the benefits of smart meters are realised for customers.