Tens of thousands more vulnerable families could receive help with sky-high water bills as ministers overhaul a vital support scheme.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed will reform the WaterSure programme, which caps bills for low-income households. It is currently available to those on benefits and who use a lot of water due to either medical need or have three or more children.
More than 230,000 customers who have a water meter received support under the scheme last year – but it has not been reformed since 2000. Mr Reed will soon launch a consultation on the scheme, which could involve making more low-income people eligible for help with water bills.
It comes as millions will be clobbered with a hike in water bills from April 1. According to WaterUK the national average water bill for the coming year is forecast to be £603 – a staggering rise of £123 (26%).
Mr Reed said: “I can’t undo the damage done through years of failure on the part of the Conservative party, but I am committed to protecting people most in need of help with their bills.
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“We have already delivered on our promise to put water companies under tough special measures through our landmark Water Act, introducing new powers to ban the payment of unfair bonuses to polluting water bosses and bring tougher criminal charges against them if they break the law. But we want to go further to create a cleaner and fairer water sector.”
Mike Keil, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), added: “We’re delighted the government is committed to reforming WaterSure so the precious financial support it has provided for a quarter of a century can grow to potentially reach over 100,000 more low-income households.
“There is considerable scope to strengthen the support it provides at a time when millions of households are worried about the impact of rising water bills. We look forward to working with the government on changes which can take us another step closer to rebuilding trust in the water sector.”
Under the Watersure scheme bills for those eligible are capped based on the average metered bill in the area their water company deals with. The Turn2Us charity, which supports people struggling financially, some customers can more than halve the amount they have to pay under the scheme.
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