Heidi Mottram: Single social tariff is a ‘no brainer’

Implementing a national single social tariff for water customers should be “a no brainer”, the chief executive of Northumbrian Water has told Utility Week.

Heid Mottram added that the government had missed a big opportunity by turning its back on recommendations to introduce such a tariff.

A single social tariff was recommended by an independent report by CCW and backed by the House of Lords in an inquiry into the water industry. However, government has not adopted the recommendation, despite work undertaken to develop a uniformed approach to support ahead of the next price review.

Yesterday (18 July) water minister Rebecca Pow said the government was looking at how to standardise support available between companies but said it was not looking to introduce a single national approach.

“A consistent approach to supporting affordability matters,” Mottram said in acknowledgement of the variation of support available from different water companies and how to access them.

“Why can’t we have something that if you meet the criteria, you get the support?” she said. “A single social tariff is a massive no-brainer to me. The government has every right to approach it however it thinks it is appropriate but I think it’s a big missed opportunity.”

Mottram explained work was underway to bring different companies’ policies in line with one another where possible but said government “has a massive role to play” in work to simplify approaches.

Ending water poverty has always been about more than just water, according Mottram who is a champion for ending water poverty for all households. This was one of five public interest commitments laid out by Water UK, which Mottram spearheaded strategy development for.

“It was never just about the water bill,” she explained. “But people think the answer to everything is to cut the bill. That helps but it doesn’t solve people’s finances.”

She said the context of the challenge has changed with the cost-of-living crisis plunging more billpayers into financial difficulties.

Mottram has pushed particularly hard for sector-wide commitments to end water poverty, which has been defined as households where a water bill accounts for more than 3% of the household income.

She added: “If we can help people increase the income in their household then almost by doing nothing to the water bill, it becomes more affordable. There are a million ways to do that. So it was never just about the water bill.”

The company is involved with initiatives around its regions to help householders including support services for all aspects of finance, not just water bills.

Utility Week’s Action on Bills campaign is calling on government to set out clear terms for how affordability should be addressed in the face of the cost of living crisis and the need for a step up in infrastructure investment.

Affordability across water and energy will be a core theme at the Utility Week Forum in October. Find out more here.