Correspondence: Social
tariffs for low income and vulnerable water
consumers
The EFRA Committee has today written to the
Minister for Water and Flooding, , to ask if there will be
adequate support in place for customers in water poverty over the
next five years.
The letter references evidence the Committee heard in its
21 January evidence
session, in which the Consumer Council for Water said that
there would be over a million households left in water poverty,
despite the increased support on offer from water companies, over
the next five years.
Witnesses described the ‘postcode lottery' amongst the social
tariffs offered by water companies, which offer lower bills to
low-income and vulnerable customers. Representatives of consumers
and water companies highlighted how people in the same set of
financial circumstances can receive significantly different
levels of support due to their geographical location and they
advocated for the introduction of a single, consistent social
tariff to reform the injustice of the current situation.
The Committee's letter notes that the Government has amended the
Water (Special Measures) Bill with provisions that should tackle
some of the legislative blockers to a single social
tariff.
While the Committee welcomes the Government's amendments, MPs ask
that the Minister for Water and Flooding put on record their
commitment to developing a single social tariff and requests that
they set out a timetable for implementing one this year.