Devon & Cornwall have the highest water bills in the country. At £440, our bills are £100 higher than the average in the rest of the country.

The water industry was privatised in 1989 by Michael Howard who did what was generally regarded to be a ‘botched’ job. Apart from giving us a water company with a customer base too small to derive good economies of scale, it also failed to give an adequate ‘green dowry’. Arrangements meant that a small number of consumers, less than 2 million households, had to bear the cost of what many regard as a “public good” – maintaining the beautiful South West coastline, making sure that the sewage is treated and not pumped out into the sea. In short, 3% of the population had to foot the bill to clean up 30% of the coastline of England.

We all support the principle that our utility companies should help to maintain our local environment - but not when the cost comes out of the pockets of people on low incomes, and when there is no relief in the benefit system for this basic commodity. Our part of the world includes some very poor areas. Cornwall is the only part of the country to get European Convergence Funding (equivalent to Objective 1 funding) and Plymouth Sutton had the poorest ward in England when Labour came into power in 1997 (and it still has some of the poorest electoral wards in the country). Some low income households pay as much as 10% of their income for their water bill. Furthermore, those who pay more tend to be those who cannot have meters based because of the kind of accommodation they live in e.g. flats and apartments. This presents the danger of a two tier water payment system – where those without meters are at a further disadvantage.

I am campaigning for fairer water charges for the South West in the following ways:

1. As Secretary and Treasurer of the All Party Water Group, a cross party groups of MPs and Peers with an interest in all matters relating to water - from domestic supply, to regulation, to flooding and drought issues.
2. By regularly meeting with Minister's to convey to them the inherent unfairness of the current charging system. Not only the minister responsible for water, but also ministers in the Treasury and the Department of Work & Pensions - and even the Prime Minister.
3. By proposing a number of solutions, from the introduction of water meters and the development of 'smart' meters , to the introduction of rising block tariffs, to changes to the tax and benefit system designed to help those least able to pay.
4. By closely following related issues such as fuel poverty and utility regulation.
5. By working with key stakeholders such as South West Water and the Consumer Council for Water.
   

Related Speeches and Resources

• Click here for Linda's May 2008 Adjournment debate on the water sector.
• Click here for the All Party Water Group's Report into the Future of the UK Water Industry, published April 2008.
• Linda's contribution to a March 2008 debate on the Water Strategy can be found here.