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Written question asked by Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 June 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 June 2026. It was answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Water Charges

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what modelling they have undertaken on the proportion of households for which water bills will be unaffordable by 2030; and what steps they are taking to mitigate this.

Answer

Water companies must submit their estimated water poverty levels as part of their Price Review 24 business plan. From these projections we expect around 1 million households to be in water poverty by 2030. The Water Servies Regulation Authority (Ofwat) will publish a Cost-of-Living Report on affordability challenges this summer.

We expect all water companies to support customers struggling to pay their bills including more than doubling the number of customers receiving social tariffs. We will continue to take action to ensure the most vulnerable are protected from rising bills. As part of this, this Government is undertaking reforms to the statutory support scheme WaterSure

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL633
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Water charges
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk