Churches, Charities and Clubs – fighting for fair charging by water companies

Ofwat

Ofwat ignores advice

MPs have accused Ofwat, the regulatory body of the water industry, of ignoring guidance by the Government issued in 2000. The guidance to Ofwat said that the Government believed it would be ‘inappropriate to charge all non-household customers, such as places of worship, community sports facilities, charities and voluntary bodies, as if they were businesses’. Severn Trent originally excluded places of worship, hospitals and schools from the rain tax but was recently required by Ofwat to apply the charges across the board. 

A spokesperson for DontDrainUs.org said, “Ofwat say the rain tax is fair, despite some of the richest, premium, multi-million pound businesses paying less while some of our most vulnerable charities are asked to pay more. Ofwat has a notion of ‘fair’ which is at odds from reality, common sense and how the Government defines it. Regulators have had a bad press recently, for example, the failings of the financial regulator to manage the banking industry, we wonder if this is an example of another regulator that has lost touch with the real world.”

To date United Utilities, Northumbrian Water, Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent are known to have implemented new charging regimes.  Others are being encouraged by Ofwat to adopt the same approach.

About Ofwat

Ofwat’s primary duty is to protect consumers, including through the promotion of competition, while enabling companies to finance their operations. Among its specific duties are to:

Set limits on what companies can charge (and on changes year-on-year);

ensure companies are able to carry out their responsibilities under the Water Industry Acts;

protect standards of customer service;

encourage companies to be more efficient;

meet the principles of sustainable development; and

help encourage competition where appropriate.

Each water company is required to submit draft business plans to Ofwat, working within price limits set by the regulator.  The current charging round runs 2005-10.  Ofwat is currently undertaking a review to set price limits for 2010-15.

info@dontdrainus.org

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