Being able to afford your water bills is essential to living a dignified life. In the past few years, we have been struck by the number of older people who have told us that they are concerned about managing the cost of their water and sewerage bills.
Support exists in the form of social tariffs for water bills, but there is currently a postcode lottery with each water company providing a different scheme. Alongside other organisations representing customers, we have been calling on the UK Government to introduce a single social tariff for water bills in England and Wales, to end this postcode lottery of support.
This briefing aims to explore the practical challenges and opportunities offered by a single social tariff for water bills. We hope that it can help chart a course towards the successful implementation of a single social tariff for water bills, which has the potential to end the current postcode lottery and ensure water affordability support is fair for all.