Citizens Advice responds to the WaterSure reform announcement

Responding to the announcement on WaterSure reform, Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“The expansion of the WaterSure scheme is an important step in providing vital help to households struggling with rising water bills. 

“Last year we helped over 100,000 people with water issues, and see everyday how households are struggling to keep up with costs. We know these pressures aren’t shared equally. People living alone often spend a higher share of their income on water, so it’s good to see the lowering of the bill cap for single-person households which is a fairer way to direct support.

“This announcement must mark the beginning - not the end - of action to make water bills more affordable. With bills rocketing again in April, the underlying issue of water affordability will intensify. We need to see clear plans for ensuring bill support reaches everyone who needs it.” 

Additional information: 

• In 2025, Citizens Advice supported over 100,000 people with a water issue 

• This includes 44,000 people coming to us about water debts and 68,000 coming to us about other issues with water (including social tariffs, priority services register, metering and billing)

• Clients who come to us about water report an average of five different problems 

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Notes to editors:

1. Citizens Advice is the people’s champion - supporting people across England and Wales through: the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. 

3. 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.

4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,500 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 locations across England and Wales.

5. 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. 

6. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.