The EFRA Committee has written to the Minister for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy, 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.
