Guest Article by Independent Age
Over the course of the last year, we’ve worked to push the UK Government to give older people better support with their water bills. We hear all too often about older people being forced to cut back, as one older person told us: “It’s quite distressing really, having to think, ‘Can I have a shower? Can I have a bath? When did I last have a shower or bath?’”.
The support that currently exists varies significantly by water company, creating a confusing postcode lottery where older people on a low income across England pay vastly different amounts for their water bills. That’s why we’ve been campaigning for a national social tariff for water bills, so that older people in financial hardship receive consistent support.
The UK Government recently announced in Parliament that they would open a consultation looking at introducing a national social tariff for water bills. We want to make sure this happens, and we need your help to keep the pressure up.
Write to your MP asking them to make sure the UK Government keeps its promise to consult on the introduction of a national social tariff for water bills.
Write to your MP
You have already been vital to our efforts, from contributing to our research, to writing to your MP and joining us to visit the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to deliver testimonies from older people struggling with their water bills.
We can’t let this issue fall by the wayside. Our recent research found that a national social tariff for water could lift hundreds of thousands of pensioners out of water poverty. This would make a huge difference.
That’s why we want the UK Government to bring this consultation forward as soon as possible. Sally, will you help us push the UK Government to support older people with their water bills?
