Affordable Water

EDM number 619 in 2003-04, proposed by Desmond Turner on 11/02/2004.

That this House welcomes the concern shown by the Prime Minister about water affordability problems, but believes that cutting water clean-up programmes to give people a saving of ú2 a year on the current average water bill of ú234 is not enough; notes that, according to the National Consumer Council's recent report, Lifelines, average household water bills are already a problem for some customers, and the proposed price increases can only make this worse, with an average bill for South West Water representing 12 per cent. of the income of a single person on jobseeker's allowance and customers in the North West facing a proposed 70 per cent. increase over five years; further notes that current levels of benefit are not sufficient to assist those on low incomes and that the current vulnerable users scheme has been a failure, with less than 2 per cent. take up of eligible customers; and therefore calls on the Government to develop proposals for a co-ordinated strategy involving suppliers, the regulator and cross-departmental initiatives to tackle affordability problems in water and to protect disadvantaged consumers, and to give clear guidance to Ofwat to ensure that the problem is tackled as a matter of urgency.

This motion has been signed by a total of 43 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.