Third of water bills money

MORE than a third of the money we pay for water bills doesn't go on water and sewerage services, research shows.

- By Steph Spyro

In 2023-24, 35% of the cash in England and Wales went on paying the interest on water companies' debt piles and on dividends to shareholders.

Prof David Hall from the University of Greenwich, who led the research, said: "Consumers and the environment would be far better off if the companies were transferred to the public sector. Some 82% of the public, across all political parties, recognise this when they say they're in favour of public ownership.