We were asked by Defra and Welsh Government to conduct an independent review of current financial support for water customers and make recommendations on how to improve the help available to customers who may struggle to pay their water and sewerage bills.

Our call for evidence

At the start of the review in October 2020 put out a call for evidence to help us evaluate existing levels of support. We wanted to know how you think low-income families could be better supported. We’ve worked closely with a wide range of stakeholders to create a series of recommendations to help struggling households get help.

Find out more about our call for evidence

Our recommendations

Water is so essential to our daily lives that it is regarded as a basic human right. Even while we all need water, not everyone can afford to pay for it.

Our recommendations outline our plans for Governments, regulators, third-sector organisations and the water industry to work together to help end water poverty and support millions of people who are struggling.

Download Independent review of water affordability (pdf – 10 MB)
Download Independent review of water affordability in Welsh (pdf – 10 MB)

Our supporting evidence

We conducted a series of research to help inform our recommendations.

Download Low income households’ experiences of water bill affordability and support (pdf – 811 KB)
Download Barriers to accessing help (jpg – 471 KB)
Download Call for evidence - Thematic analysis (pdf – 2 MB)
Download Cross Sector Review of Affordability Support (pdf – 1 MB)
Download Social Tariffs Omnibus Research (pdf – 2 MB)
Download Water bill affordability - Customer views on financial support options for low income households (pdf – 840 KB)

Did you miss us live?

Don’t worry, below you can view a recording of CCW’s Emma Clancy, Dr Mike Keil and Andy White launching our recommendations, which outline our plans to help end water poverty and support millions of people who are struggling.

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Live launch of our recommendations in May 2021