Water bill rises 'show contempt for customers'

Politicians and campaigners have condemned proposed water bill rises for England and Wales, accusing the regulator, Ofwat, of showing "contempt" to customers affected by poor service, sewage dumping and leaks.

- Alex Lawson, Helena Horton, Anna Isaac

Ofwat's recommendation yesterday that households pay on average £94 more over five years to fund environmental improvements was called a "bitter pill" by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

The regulator also put Thames Water into unprecedented special measures, allowing extra scrutiny of Britain's biggest supplier, as fears grow over whether it may have to go through a painful restructuring or be temporarily nationalised.

The UK's private water firms have faced public anger, after years of taking out millions in bonuses and dividends, while underinvestment in an ageing network led to high levels of leaks and sewage overflows. In March, data revealed that untreated human waste was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas last year, up 105% on the previous 12 months.

Ofwat's plans to pay for repairs by raising bills were met with anger.

The former Undertones singer turned water campaigner, Feargal Sharkey, accused the watchdog of charging customers twice by "allowing water companies to put up bills by a large amount to pay for infrastructure they should have already paid for".

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the Conservatives had let the industry "get completely out of hand", and Labour would look at "possible further regulation" to tackle both pollution and rising bills.

Water bosses yesterday met the environment secretary, Steve Reed, to promise to fix sewage leaks and serve customers better.