Customers applying for help under the Vulnerable Groups' Regulations

Customers applying for help under the Vulnerable Groups' Regulations – 2004-05 and 2005-06

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Customers applying for help under the Vulnerable Groups' Regulations – 2004-05 and 2005-06

Background

Certain metered household customers are protected from paying large water bills under Government Regulations(1), which were introduced on 1 April 2000. The Government amended these Regulations(2) in 2005 to extend eligibility for assistance. The Regulations were drawn up to help people who might otherwise worry about turning on their taps – possibly compromising their health and the health of others – because of concerns about affording their bill.

Eligible customers pay no more than the average household bill for their region even if they use more than the average amount of water.

The Regulations apply to all appointed water companies operating wholly or mainly in England. However, the two Welsh companies, Dŵr Cymru and Dee Valley Water, also offer the same assistance on a voluntary basis.

In order to qualify for assistance, the customer or someone living in their household, needs to be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

Council Tax Benefit;
Housing Benefit;
Income Support;
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance;
Working Tax Credit;
Child Tax Credit (except families in receipt of the family element only); or
Pension Credit.

In addition, they need to either:

be responsible for three or more children under the age of 19 and in full-time education living in the property; or
have (or someone living in the property must have) a medical condition which requires significant additional use of water.

The medical conditions listed in the Regulations as qualifying conditions are:

desquamation (flaky skin disease);
weeping skin disease;
incontinence;
abdominal stoma;
Crohn's disease;
ulcerative colitis; or
renal failure requiring dialysis at home (where there is no contribution by the local health authority to the cost of the water used).

Additionally, a customer who is in receipt of qualifying benefits may qualify for help where a doctor certifies that the customer or someone living in the property needs to use a significant amount of additional water due to another kind of medical condition.

The assistance is not available to metered customers who have high discretionary water use, such as those with garden sprinklers or swimming pools, or to business customers.

Number of households applying and accepted under the Vulnerable Groups Regulations

Each year we collect information from companies on the number of households applying for, and successfully receiving assistance offered under the Regulations. The table below sets out the numbers for 2004-05 and
2005-06.

In England and Wales the number of households receiving help has risen by 37% in the past year from 9,627 to 13,187. Some companies have noted that this increase is due to the changes Government made to the Regulations(3), which took effect from 1 April 2005 and which extended the qualifying criteria. Some companies have also noted that this is due to an increase in the awareness of the assistance and through increased promotion.

Reasons for an application not being successful reported by the companies include:

the customer's property does not have a water meter;
the customer is not in receipt of qualifying benefits;
the person having the medical condition has left the property;
the assistance would not result in reduced charges for the customer; and
incomplete or withdrawn applications.

Good practice and future promotion

We encourage companies to make sure that all customers who could benefit financially from the Vulnerable Groups scheme are aware of the assistance and to publicise the scheme on their bills or billing literature.

Examples of good practice undertaken by companies include:

provision of a dedicated freephone helpline;
wide publication, for example, on billing leaflets, websites, and distribution of leaflets to consumer organisations such as Citizens' Advice and debt advice agencies;
sending posters to local councils, council neighbourhood offices, libraries, charities, hospitals, GPs and medical centres, Age Concern, Citizens' Advice and organisations such as the National Eczema Society;
proactively writing to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offices, Citizens' Advice and local councils to increase their awareness of the scheme;
making sure that community workers such as district nurses are fully aware of the scheme and can pass information to their clients;
more straightforward application forms, including a flow diagram for customers to follow to see if they are eligible for assistance;
reviewing processes and procedures to make sure that the application process is as easy to follow as possible;
improved staff training and dedicated teams who deal with applications; and
proactively writing to metered customers who use large amounts of water and who are on the Third Party Deductions Scheme(4) to notify them of the assistance.

In July this year Defra, working closely with us, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) and Water UK, held a workshop to discuss good practice in the operation and promotion of the Vulnerable Groups scheme. We will continue to work with these organisations and other industry stakeholders to take forward the actions from the workshop, for example, to design a new, standard application form for the scheme which can be used by all companies.

Any household customer who thinks that they may be eligible for help should contact their local water company for further details and an application form.

Service and Performance Team
November 2006

(1) The Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999 SI 1999/3441, amended by SI2000/519, 2003/552.
(2) 2005/59.
(3)Changes reflected in text above.
(4) Customers who are in arrears and in receipt of Income Support, Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance or Pension Credit can have payment taken directly from their benefit for their water and sewerage charges.

Number of households applying for help under the Vulnerable Groups Regulations – 2004-05 and 2005-06

	Total number of applications		% change in number of applications between 2004-05 and 2005-06(1)	Total number of successful applications		% change in successful applications between 2004-05 and 2005-06(1)
	2004-05	2005-06		2004-05	2005-06
Anglian	1,311	1,297	-1	682	719	5
Dŵr Cymru	417	512	23	319	426	34
Northumbrian (North East and Essex & Suffolk)	569	787	38	483	672	39
Severn Trent	1,072	1,508	41	916	1,223	34
South West	1,647	3,036	84	1,645	2,962	80
Southern	262	325	24	258	324	26
Thames	1,655	2,192	32	1,323	1,780	35
United Utilities	1,489	2,179	46	1,114	1,447	30
Wessex	519	677	30	481	622	29
Yorkshire	1,131	1,350	19	1,059	1,308	24
Bournemouth & W Hampshire	127	139	9	118	96	-19
Bristol	236	483	105	211	391	85
Cambridge	89	120	35	81	97	20
Dee Valley	10	16	60	10	16	60
Folkestone & Dover	62	59	-5	33	42	27
Mid Kent	171	137	-20	138	103	-25
Portsmouth	25	32	28	24	30	25
South East Water	105	131	25	91	114	25
South Staffordshire	39	166	326	39	139	256
Sutton & East Surrey	38	68	79	38	64	68
Tendring Hundred	329	358	9	313	328	5
Three Valleys	275	289	5	251	284	13
Industry	11,578	15,861	37	9,627	13,187	37

(1) Rounded to zero decimal places.

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