Pressure on new Labour Government to scrap huge 'insulting' water bill hike

Water bills in Cornwall are set to go up by a whopping 14 per cent to pay for sewage and pollution investment - and demands are being made for the new Labour Government to step in. Water regulator Ofwat announced this week that on average water bills could rise by £94 over next five years in England and Wales, with customers paying £19 a year more to help water companies tackle sewage spills and leaky pipes.

The proposed water bill increases vary from region to region. The highest rise is planned by Southern Water with a 44 per cent hike to £603 a year. In Cornwall, which is covered by South West Water, average bills are currently £496.84 but could go up by 13 per cent to £561. It would mean bills go up by £73 over the next five years which would equate to £14.60p more a year.

Pennon, which owns South West Water, had originally hoped to be able to increase its bills by 33 per cent to £644. The announcement that prices would go up saw Pennon's share value jump by six per cent. Water firms around the UK have already said the Ofwat-proposed price hikes do not go far enough to address problems including sewage leaks.

In May all water companies in England and Wales announced they wanted bills to increase by between 24 per cent and 91 per cent over the next five years. Southern Water was asking for the biggest jump of 91 per cent, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), with South Staffordshire and Cambridge Water asking for the lowest rise of 24 per cent. Pennon asked for a 33 per cent hike. At the time, the water firms said the increases would fund £100bn of spending over the period, which will include replacing ageing, leaking pipes and reducing sewage discharges into rivers and seas.

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It comes as only yesterday it was revealed that nearly a dozen beaches in Cornwall were hit with pollution warnings following heavy rainfall in recent days. Charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) highlighted the locations where sewage and pollution may contaminate water via its interactive map. The SAS map warned that storm sewage was discharged at many favourite bathing spots.

The campaign group has been calling for an end to sewage discharges into all bathing waters, and high-priority nature sites, by 2030. In 2023, there were 584,001 recorded discharges across England, Scotland and Wales - an 51 per cent increase on the previous year - with sewage released into waterways for a total of 12,966,322 hours.

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Cornwall's new Liberal Democrat MPs Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) and Andrew George (St Ives) have called for the new Labour government ministers to stop water companies from implementing the large water bill hikes. Mr George said that during the general election campaign, the Liberal Democrats, who secured its highest number of MPs in its history, called for Ofwat to be abolished and a new water regulator established with greater powers.

The two MPs are now asking that Ofwat uses the existing powers it has to crackdown on large water bill rises. The party is also calling on the government to implement a ban on water company executive bonuses until discharges and leaks end.

Mr George said: "SWW has become a risk-free, ethics-free, money-printing emporium, which has largely ignored its responsibilities to its customers and the environment, which it views as entirely secondary to providing eye-watering share and top exec pay outs. The timing is awful. New ministers must intervene to block these insulting price hikes."

He added: "It is a national scandal that these disgraced firms are demanding more money from families and pensioners in a cost-of-living crisis, all whilst they’ve increased raw sewage discharges. After years of Conservative ministers letting these shameful polluters get away with it, we now need tough action, starting with a ban on bonuses and a block on large bill hikes.

"Communities spoke loudly at the election, demanding an end to the sewage scandal and water firms stuffing their pockets with bonuses and dividends. The government and regulator must now listen and act."

A spokesperson for industry group Water UK said the proposed plans - Ofwat slashing the larger increases the companies wanted - were "the biggest ever cut in investment", adding: "As a direct result, more housing will be blocked, the recovery of our rivers will be slower and we will fail to deal with the water shortages we know are coming."

Water UK's CEO David Henderson also told the BBC: "This is an unrealistic and unfair decision from Ofwat and our economy and environment will pay the price."

The Consumer Council for Water, a government-funded body, estimated that "about two million households in England and Wales currently cannot afford their water bill". The group's CEO Mike Keil said: "Customers understand investment is urgently needed but they need reassurance that every pound of their money is going to be well spent. Trust in water companies has never been lower."

Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves has criticised the planned increase in water bills by 2030, describing it as a “bitter pill” for British consumers adding: "It’s clearly a bitter pill for people who are seeing today’s announcements about higher water bills. This reflects 14 years of failure from the Conservatives to drive investment to reduce pollution and to ensure that families are not struggling the way that they have been with the cost-of-living crisis."

A spokesperson for South West Water said the utility firm would not comment. They said: "We will not be providing comment on this one but thanks for getting in touch."