Campaigners visited the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) today, carrying towels with quotes from older people who are cutting back on their water usage due to cost. The group delivered a letter calling on the UK Government to introduce a single social tariff for water to end the postcode lottery of financial support in England and Wales.
Included quotes:
“At the moment I cannot afford to flush my toilet every time I use it”
“I only shower once a week and only wash up every two to three days”
“Yet another bill that I will struggle to pay. Where do the water companies think the extra money will come from”
The hand-in was organised by later life financial hardship charity Independent Age, and coincided with the launch of their new report: Looking for a lifeline: Modelling a single social tariff for water bills, which projects there will be almost one million pensioner households living in water poverty by 2029/2030 unless there is an intervention by the UK Government. This is an increase from 2022/23 when there were 750,000 pensioner households living in water poverty, which is defined as households spending more than 3% of their income after housing costs on water.
Cutting back
The new report by Independent Age found that 40% of older people (65+) in England living on a low income have taken action to reduce their water bill[1]. When asked about what actions they had taken in the past six months between January and July 2024:
45% said they reduced their washing machine usage
44% said they reduced the amount they were flushing the toilet
30% were using the kettle less
28% were reducing how often they shower
Single social tariff
Independent Age research has put forward four different models for a single social tariff which could all reduce water poverty. These include a fixed bill reduction, percentage discount, a daily block of free water and a bill cap.
The introduction of a single standardised social tariff would have widespread support, with 73% of all older people in England and 72% in Wales backing the idea when polled in July 2024. The research found that the different models had the potential to lift between 292,000 and 578,000 older people out of water poverty.
Now, the charity is calling on the UK Government to take heed of the report, conduct its own research and establish a social tariff to lift everyone out of water poverty, including older people in financial hardship.
Independent Age Chief Executive Joanna Elson, CBE said:
“Living in water poverty can be a tough and isolating experience, it means cutting back on washing, laundry and even boiling the kettle less. This is modern Britain, these aren’t cutbacks older people should be forced into making.
“We hope the UK Government listens to the evidence and starts working towards a single social tariff, the current postcode lottery cannot continue, your address shouldn’t determine how much financial support you receive. The time for action is now, our research projects a worrying surge in later life water poverty if the status quo remains in place.
“With Ofwat’s final determination on water bills happening next week, now is the time for the UK Government and water providers to start thinking about those on low incomes struggling with their bills”
