WALKER REPORT AND WATER POVERTY IN THE SOUTH WEST

That this House welcomes the final recommendations of the independent Walker Report on charging and metering for water and sewerage services, which singles out the difficulties that many South West Water customers face in affording the highest bills in the country; notes its identification of the botched privatisation of the utility in the 1980s as the primary cause of these problems; further notes that this privatisation programme has resulted in bills £150 above the national average, and leaves up to one third of South West Water customers living in water poverty, according to estimates by the Consumer Council for Water; further welcomes the fact that the recommendations of the report are being immediately progressed for consideration by the regulator; and uges the Government to ensure that action is taken to permanently address this longstanding issue.