Nearly two million households in England and Wales are living in water poverty, according to a new report compiled by researchers at the University of York for the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
The report defines water poverty as spending more than 5% of household income on water services after housing costs, and finds a further four million households spend more than 3%. Levels of water poverty are higher among ethnic minority communities, single working-age adults and single parents, with rates varying significantly between water company regions.
The report was produced by Professor emeritus Jonathan Bradshaw, along with Dr Ana Castro from York’s Department of Health Sciences and Andrew White at CCW.
Professor Bradshaw, who has been analysing water poverty since 2012, said: “This is the first of a series of reports commissioned by the Consumer Council for Water.” He explained that with water prices due to rise by around 40% above inflation, the research needs to be repeated annually to track their impact on households.
CCW says the annual data will help track poverty rates over time and assess the effectiveness of support such as water companies’ social tariff schemes.
