Water Industry Bill: Free meters will `help to protect poor'

MOVES TO introduce water meters free will help to protect the most vulnerable members of society, the Government said yesterday, despite concerns that there could be a "flood of new meter users".

Michael Meacher, Environment Minister, said measures to outlaw disconnection for non-payment of bills for homeowners, schools and hospitals would make it easier for users to opt for meters if they wanted. Opening the second reading debate of the Water Industry Bill, he admitted a big increase of customers switching to meters could force up charges for other users but the rise should be "manageable" against the high costs incurred improving water.

At present, 14 per cent of households have a meter, with 2 per cent or 3 per cent switching to them each year. "The consequences for other charges will depend on the rate of switching, the characteristics of those for whom meters are installed and the manner in which costs are apportioned between different customers," Mr Meacher said.

The measure would protect against big bills for families with three or more children on low incomes and people with medical conditions requiring a lot of water. "This is a relatively small but important and valuable Bill, giving significant benefits to millions of people. It will protect vulnerable groups, prevent disconnections and extend consumer choice, while enhancing conservation."

Despite the new policy on disconnections, this was not a "soft option" for those who deliberately avoided paying bills, because a range of procedures would still be available to water companies, including calling in bailiffs or getting costs deducted direct from customers' earnings.

The Bill reverses plans to drop the basing of water charges on house rateable values from 2000.

Mr Meacher said ministers were not opposed in principle to basing charges on council-tax bands if such a system could be refined. They were willing to look at all future options and claimed, to Tory denials, that the March 2000 deadline showed the Conservative government had planned to opt for compulsory water metering.

But Simon Burns, Tory spokesman on the environment, transport and regions, dismissed the Bill as a "missed opportunity", because it would do "nothing" to enhance competition or benefit the water industry and its consumers. "Much of this Bill formalises what many companies are already doing when it could have been used to improve the services to consumers and improved the competition in the industry," he said.

Mr Burns urged the Government to add provisions which would also exclude further and higher education establishments, residential and private nursing homes and children's homes from the threat of disconnections.