Utility Week

24 | MARCH 2023 | UTILITY WEEK Water Analysis T he idea of a nationwide social tari for water bills has garnered near universal support from industry, consumer bod- ies, regulators and government – until now. Therese Co ey's bombshell comments that this is no longer the preferred approach of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural A airs (Defra) has le- the sector "sur- prised and bitterly disappointed". It was widely reported that the water sec- tor was dealt "a body blow" in January by the environment secretary suggesting a cool- ing in government appetite for a single social tari for water bills. Thérèse Co ey appeared before the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Commit- tee as part of its inquiry into the work of Ofwat and was asked about progress of the proposed national scheme to address water poverty. The single tari was recommended by CCW in May 2021 a- er it carried out an inde- pendent review into a ordability on behalf of governments in England and Wales. Defra made a clear commitment to consult on a ordability following CCW's review, which it says it has not moved away from. However, Co ey said she was "more minded to have consistency water company- by-water company" of available support instead of a single tari funded by billpayers across the country. "It's a matter of social policy and should be mandated by government, not something decided by boardrooms," Emma Clancy, chief executive of CCW, tells Utility Week. CCW's recommendation enjoyed the sup- port of government at the time, when George Eustice was secretary of state and Rebecca Pow was environment minister, Clancy says. "This seems to be a decision by the incoming secretary of state, Therese Co ey." As part of the independent review, a working group of experts examined how to address a ordability, CCW says, but could not collectively ˜ nd a way of delivering help to the people who need it without a central funding pot. Co ey told peers she favoured an approach such as WaterSure, where an eligi- bility criteria to receive bill support is set – something she described as "very valid". Drawbacks to regional models Consumer groups warn that implementing consistent criteria without shared funding ignores the fact that areas with higher levels of deprivation o- en have fewer people able to fund the regional scheme. "Even if eligibility criteria is the same for each company's scheme, the regional fund- ing would mean the support people could be provided with wouldn't be the same," says Jess Cook, water poverty lead at National Energy Action (NEA). "A household might be eligible for the scheme wherever they live but they might receive a much bigger discount in one area than another purely down to the amount of funding a company has available A body blow tosocial tariff s Since it was fi rst proposed, a single national social tariff for water funded by all billpayers has gathered more and more support – but the government has abruptly poured cold water on the idea.

• Cover