Nearly one million older people in the UK could face water poverty by 2029. We need change

In 2025, it is completely unacceptable that anyone is restricting their laundry to once a month, limiting the amount they wash or not flushing the toilet, all in order to afford their water bills. Yet for many older people on low incomes this is the reality they face every day.

I recently met with Independent Age, the national charity supporting older people facing financial hardship, to hear more about the impact of water bills on older people living on a low income in England and Wales.

Their free advice line hears from people in this situation regularly. Many are finding it tough with polling showing 38% of older people living on a low income in England and 29% in Wales had found it either a ‘constant struggle’ or a struggle from ‘time to time’ to keep up with paying their water bill between January and July 2024.

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As the MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, I receive many emails each week from constituents affected by the uncertainty of rising water bills, especially as people are still reeling over the astronomical increases to their energy bills. Many of those whose water bills are rising are receiving a very poor service from companies like Thames Water, with local news full of stories of sewage dumping into our rivers and waterways, and so people are right to ask, what are we paying for?

In December, the water regulator Ofwat signed off on new increases to the amount water companies can charge customers. Water bills across the UK will rise by an average of 36% by 2030, and for some consumers the amount they pay for water will increase by as much as 53%. For many older people in poverty, these increases will put intense pressure on their already tight budgets. The need to tackle high water bills for everyone living in financial hardship is more pressing than ever.

If there is no additional intervention by the UK government and water providers, research by the University of York commissioned by Independent Age projects the number of older people living in water poverty – defined as households spending more than 3% of their income after housing costs on water – could hit almost one million by 2029/2030, a huge increase from 750,000 in 2023/2024. We cannot allow this to happen.  

Financial support is available for people struggling to afford their water bills. But the variation between what different water companies offer is significant, with the average bill reduction ranging from as much as £287 to as little as £110. And of course, consumers aren’t able to shop around for the best support when it comes to water, meaning affording water bills can be a complete postcode lottery.

That’s why I am calling for the government to end this unfair system and introduce a single standardised ware social tariff for England and Wales. This could lift as many as 578,000 older people out of water poverty. The impact of surging water bills on older people living in poverty in England and Wales needs urgent action and the government has an opportunity to chart a new course which ends the water postcode lottery once and for all.

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