Citizens Advice responds to Prime Minister's announcement on the water industry
Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech, Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:
“Rising bills are pushing more people over the edge - we’re seeing almost 200 people every day with water debt. The government’s announcement today of a strengthened Water Bill is a chance to change this and put consumers at the heart of much-needed reform.
“This must include proper support with bills. Right now, the help you get depends on who supplies your area, rather than your level of need. This means two people could have the exact same income, but living just miles apart makes the difference between getting support or not. That leaves too many people scrambling to make ends meet, or falling into the red.
“That’s why we continue to campaign for a national water social tariff. It’s a practical step the government can take to help struggling households keep the wolf from the door.”
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Data
Just over 32,000 people have sought help from Citizens Advice about water debts so far this year (until the end of Aug). This amounts to 193 people a day, or 24 people per hour.
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Notes to editors:
Citizens Advice is the people’s champion - supporting people across England, Wales and the Channel Islands through: the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities; and the Citizens Advice consumer service.
Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
Citizens Advice helped 2.71 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2024-25. And we had 44 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,500 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 locations across England, Wales and the Channel Islands.
Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.
Citizens Advice consumer service can help with consumer issues like broken or faulty goods, or problems with energy, heat networks or post. You can get advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.