The number of low-income households in England and Wales receiving financial help from their water company has almost doubled to more than 400,000 in the past year, according to a new report from the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater).

The water watchdog has welcomed the rise in support for cash-strapped customers but warned that it remains a drop in the ocean compared to the 3 million households that say their water bills are not affordable.

CCWater’s report Staying afloat: Addressing customer vulnerability in the water sector (2016/17) shows that more than 260,500 low-income bill payers have seen their water and sewerage charges slashed through social tariffs – up 93 per cent on the previous year.

A further 141,000 households are also registered for the industry’s WaterSure scheme. This can cap the bills of low-income customers who have high essential water usage needs.

However,  the watchdog remains concerned that ongoing financial assistance with water bills is only available to around one in five customers who need it.

The consumer body has worked with the industry to boost awareness of customer-funded social tariffs but funding for some of these schemes has already dried up. CCWater is now challenging water companies to find the additional money needed to reach a greater number of customers.

 Andy White, Senior Policy Manager at the Consumer Council for Water, said:

“Water companies have taken big strides towards helping more customers in financial hardship, but it’s still only scratching the surface.”

 “No one should have to struggle to afford something that is so essential for them to live a healthy life. Water companies have the power to change this by dipping into their own pockets to increase the amount of support on offer.”

 CCWater’s report also shows there has been a steady rise in the number of customers in vulnerable circumstances who have signed up for the wide range of additional support services like braille and audio formats that are available through water companies’ Priority Services Registers.

Over the past five years the number of customers signed up to these registers has increased by nearly 40 per cent but CCWater remains concerned about the large regional variations in take-up. The watchdog said this suggests some water companies have a lot more to do to raise awareness of the extra support customers can tap into.

Reacting to CCWater’s report, Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, said:

“The big increase in help being given to customers by their water companies reflects the major emphasis the industry places on supporting vulnerable people. Although water bills usually cost households just over £1 a day we know that many people can struggle to pay, which is why water companies provide them with help worth more than £40 million each year and are constantly looking at ways to target support at those who need it most. As the report acknowledges, we are on track to deliver financial support to an additional 1 million people by 2020.”

"The issue of providing support to vulnerable customers will also be addressed during the next price review by Ofwat, due to be implemented in 2020."

The CCWater report acknowledges that the water companies are on track to meet the commitments  made in their 2015-20 AMP6 Business Plans to deliver financial support to an additional 1 million people (459,000 households), stating:

“At the beginning of 2017, the industry reported to CCWater that they had already delivered financial support to almost 780,000 people (338,764 households) in less than two years. It is likely that the 1 million target will be met by 2020.”

A report by Defra in 2015 estimated that, in the worst case scenario, water bills could rise by around 28 per cent by 2050.

Click here to read the CCWater report in full