Water bill rises to help struggling households

Consumer groups said the rise would squeeze struggling households when one in five are already finding it hard to pay. Water UK says the rise for most customers will be less than inflation.

Water UK said on Thursday that firms had already invested in infrastructure and would invest a further 70 billion to address storm overflows and increase water supplies by building new reservoirs and national water transfer schemes.

The companies have increased the amount of support they offer by more than 200 million dollars, which will help hundreds of thousands of households, it said.

Water companies will never cut anyone off or make them use a prepayment meter, so anyone with concerns should contact their water company or go to supportontap.org for advice. The Consumer Council for Water CCW said that many customers who can't afford their bill slip through the net because of a postcode lottery of regional variations in billing.

CCW chief executive Emma Clancy said water is essential for all of us and no-one should worry about being able to afford their bill. She said that the bill will cause more uncertainty for struggling households, at a time when they can't be certain they will get the help they need. She said that it will stop the most vulnerable from cutting back or running up debt when they can't afford to do so.