Home & Garden
20 December 2024
A new briefing published by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) – a cross-party think tank – recommends the introduction of a single social tariff for water.
Such a scheme, it argues, would end the postcode lottery of support customers currently face.
The paper comes amidst rising speculation that the government is considering the introduction of a single unified social tariff.
The move was considered and then shelved under the Conservatives, but charities and anti-poverty campaigners, such as Independent Age, Age UK and Fair by Design, have sustained pressure on the new government to resurrect the policy.
Social tariffs are used to provide a discount on water bills to lower income households.
1.6 million households benefit from these schemes, but their design is inconsistent across water companies – both in terms of eligibility criteria and depth of discount.
Under the status quo, savings vary hugely, from £66 with some water companies to as high as £450 with others.
Such variation creates a postcode lottery of support. Two homes in the exact same circumstances, but a street apart, could be entitled to two very different levels of support.
On top of this the poor targeting of social tariffs means hundreds of thousands of households may not be receiving support they could be entitled to.
‘Water bills will have to rise in the coming years to support much-needed investment into our water infrastructure. But it is vital that struggling households are not left behind in this process. A single social tariff is now needed to end the postcode lottery of support and modernise the way we help those who need it with their water bills.’
SAM ROBINSON
Senior researcher at Social Market Foundation
The SMF argues for the need for a single national social tariff so that households are entitled to and receive the same level of support, no matter who their water provider is.
There are multiple options for how to design a single social tariff. These include a ‘bill cap’; set percentage discounts depending on income; a fixed percentage discount across the board and a lower unit price for water.
However, the SMF warns that most options will require water meters to be rolled out more widely, to ensure that companies have the data they need to run effective programmes. At present only 60% of households have meters.
The think tank also wants to see better data sharing between government departments and water companies to enable needy households to be targeted.
This briefing is part of a larger SMF project reviewing water pricing, seeking ways to combine financial stability and affordability with demand reduction. The full report is due to be published in February 2025.
Failures of water regulators, water companies and the government are ‘leaving the public and environment in the mire’.
Why Water UK wants us to add ‘saving water’ to our new year’s resolutions.
MPs and organisations make joint call for installation of water fountain network across the UK.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Weekly ethical news, offers, comps and a free digital mag (quarterly) – what’s not to love?
