Charge rises kept below inflation

Average annual combined bills in England and Wales are set to rise by £31 (7.5%) to £448 from April. This equates to £1.23 per day – an increase of 8p per day on last year’s charges.

Scottish Water announced a 5% increase to its 2023-24 charges, which vary according to Council Tax band. This is significantly below the average increase of CPI+2% anticipated by the SRC21 settlement (CPI was 11.1% in October, the month annual charge levels are set in reference to).

The industry in England and Wales has boosted the support available to low income customers by £200m to its highest level ever, meaning 1.2m households are set to receive help over the coming months. Around half of households in Scotland receive financial support as they automatically have either a discount, exemption or reduction applied to their charges.

Nonetheless, CCW pointed out the 2023-24 water bills rise was the largest for almost 20 years and could prove a tipping point for the one in five customers already struggling to pay.