Consumer Scotland urges water poverty action ahead of higher charges from 2027

(by Karma Loveday)

Consumer Scotland has called for new measures to alleviate the potential rise in water poverty in Scotland over the next few years, as well as longer-term solutions.

The statutory customer watchdog awaits Scottish Water’s final business plan for 2027-33, but noted that the draft bills would rise annually by up to 4% plus CPI inflation across the charging period. That would mean bills increase in real terms by as much as 26.5% across the six years and would follow a cumulative real-terms rise in water bills of almost 8% during the past five years.

Consumer Scotland agreed the increases are necessary to fund essential investment in ageing infrastructure, climate resilience and regulatory compliance. But it warned of the impact on household affordability. Water poverty – defined as households spending more than 3% of disposable income on water and sewerage charges – was below 10% in 2023/24 but is projected to rise above 14% by 2030 and 16% by 2033 given the likely price rises.

Consumer Scotland called for: 

• An increase to the Water Charges Reduction Scheme (WCRS) discount to 50%, to offset the impact of real-terms bill increases for over 400,000 households, most of whom are on lower incomes. 

• The establishment of a by-application Water Hardship Fund to support households who do not qualify for WCRS but still face affordability challenges.

• Improved targeting of affordability support in future charging periods by developing mechanisms for automatic eligibility and reducing barriers to access.