Responses to Setting water and sewerage price limits: A joint statement

Responses to Setting water and sewerage price limits: A joint statement - Consultation paper

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Consultation responses

Sustainable development

Water resources

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Responses to - Setting Water and Sewerage Price Limits – A Joint Statement

Just before the companies submitted draft business plans in August, the Government and regulators (1) issued a joint statement. This explained the draft business plan stage of the price review and raised a number of questions for consideration by stakeholders. We have now closed the consultation having received 159 responses, 34 from organisations and 125 from individuals. Copies of these responses are available on this website. We have responded to each of these letters and shared them with other parties to the joint statement.

Overall the majority of individuals and organisations who chose to respond support further environmental improvements. Many of these accepted that this would increase their water bills. It is unclear how many of these also appreciated that water bills would be rising in future anyway. Ofwat has also had a large number of letters expressing concerns about the future affordability of water.

Summary of responses to joint statement

	Individuals	Organisations
Supporting environmental improvements, of which:	119	27
· No comment on impact on costs/bills	20	13
· Accepted bills would need to rise	21	14
· Willing to pay increased bill	67
· Willing to pay a specified amount	2
· Willing to pay if increase directed solely to the environment	9
Express concern about the size of future bills	4	6
Other		1
Consider customers do not presently pay the true cost of water	2
Total	125	34

Government will shortly issue guidance on the extent of the environmental programme. The companies will then produce their final business plans in April. Ofwat will analyse the costs set out in the plans and issue draft determinations on 28 July. These will be open to consultation before Ofwat makes final determinations on 25 November 2004.

Category	Number of responses
Environmentalists	14
Local government	7
Members of the public	122
Organisations representing consumer interests	4
Advisory committees to the Environment Agency	5
Trade bodies, suppliers and contractors	4

(1)

Ofwat	Environment Agency
Welsh Assembly Government	English Nature
Drinking Water Inspectorate	Countryside Council for Wales

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