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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle water poverty among older people.

The Government is committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers including older people.

All water companies have measures in place for people who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. We expect all companies to make sure households are aware of the measures available to them and do everything they can to support all customers who are vulnerable, including having regard to the interests of individuals of pensionable age.

Government is also improving protections for customers, including introducing new compensations payments for failing to provide additional support for vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register.

As the independent economic regulator, Ofwat independently scrutinises water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. We support the action Ofwat is taking to clamp down on poor performance in the water sector to ensure they are delivering for customers.

Furthermore, we expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to deliver this.