Water Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 6:30 pm on 8 September 2003.

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Photo of Norman Baker Norman Baker Liberal Democrat, Lewes 6:30, 8 September 2003

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to press that point. It is the key argument against metering and must be resolved before it is introduced.

The vulnerable groups regulations introduced by the Conservative Government offer reductions for people in exactly the circumstances that the hon. Lady described. It so happens that the regulations do not work properly—there is a terrible take-up rate, of about 1 per cent.—so they need to be wholly revised, but the principle that such people could have help with metered bills has been established in legislation.

Also missing from the Bill is how to deal with people who do not pay their water bills. The hon. Member for Aylesbury was right to point that out. The water companies tell us that there is a clear distinction between people who have genuine difficulties with their water bills—they must be protected from disconnection, and it would be completely improper to return to that practice, whatever the Conservative line on it may be—and those who know that no disconnections can be effected and take advantage of that situation. I frankly confess that I do not know the solution to that major problem.

My hon. Friend Sue Doughty recently conducted a survey of water companies, and they all made that point. Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water said:

"A large problem remains with those who can pay, but won't pay. This problem is increasing due to the ban on disconnection."

United Utilities said:

"sanctions are needed to deal with those who choose not to pay, and adequate must be given for those who cannot pay."

That has to be a sensible policy, although I do not know how it is to be translated into legislation that works. If we do not address the issue, more and more people will refuse to pay their bills simply because they know that they will not be disconnected.

The Bill says nothing much about leakages. The Minister may say that he thinks that they have been dealt with, and certainly the situation has improved dramatically over the past 10 years, but it has not improved for the section of pipe between the company supply at the stopcock and the householder's tap. Water UK says that a quarter of all leakage is in that section of pipe. The companies have dealt with their pipes, but the consumer, by and large, has not. People may be unaware that there is a leak, because the water is not metered, or they may not have the resources to deal with it. Whatever the reason, there is a major loss of water in that short piece of pipe. The Government must introduce measures to deal with that. Personally, I believe that ownership of the pipe should remain with the householder, but there should be an obligation on the water companies to make a significant contribution to dealing with such leaks. That would be better for the environment as well as making sense for the companies themselves in the longer run.

The Bill contains little on private sewer adopters. The Minister said that he intended to do something about that. It is a big issue that has been around for a long time. Why is it not part of the Bill?