Written question asked by Alison Seabeck (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 December 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 December 2011. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Monday, 19 December 2011 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Water: Prices

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the proportion of water-bill payers in (a) the South West and (b) other regions of the UK who spend more than five per cent. of their income on their water bills.

Answer: In May 2011 Ofwat published 'Affordability and debt 2009-10: Current evidence', which can be found on the Ofwat website.This document contains analysis of the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey, which are the most recent publically-available data on this issue. This analysis found that 16% of households in the south-west spend more than 5% of their disposable income on water and sewerage charges. Across England and Wales, 11% of households spend more than 5% of their disposable income on water and sewerage charges.

Secondary information