Social tariffs

The cost of living crisis continues to cause significant hardship for many of our clients and we know from current research that the number of people unable to afford essentials has doubled in the last two years - rising from 1 in 20 to 1 in 10 UK households.

It’s more important than ever to be aware of any financial help that might be available and one such source is social tariffs. These are designed to make essential services more affordable to those most in need, yet many eligible people remain unaware of their existence or else do not know how to go about making a claim. Polling shows that 56% of Universal Credit claimants are unaware of social tariffs for water.

And social tariffs don’t just assist those consumers who are on a low income - many are also open to people based on other characteristics, such as disability, age or caring responsibilities. Every water company in the UK offers a social tariff and the WaterSure scheme is available to certain consumers on water meters, but it’s clear that greater awareness is needed to increase take-up.

Southern Water has a range of social tariffs and schemes, as detailed below.

The Essentials Tariff

This is available to people with a low income and low savings, or where someone in the household receives pension credit. It can reduce the water bill by 45%-90%.

Watersure

If you’re on a low income and have a water meter, then Southern Water may be able to cap your bills. This is available to people on a qualifying benefit who are responsible for three or more children OR have a specified medical condition that means they need to use more water. You can apply online or phone for free on 0800 027 0363 - 8am–7pm Monday to Friday and 9am-1pm Saturday.

NewStart

This scheme can write off debt if you’ve fallen behind with your water bills and haven’t made a payment in a while.

Water Direct

If you claim a qualifying benefit and have at least £50 in arrears, Jobcentre Plus may consider paying Southern Water directly out of your benefits, to cover what you owe in arrears and your current charges.

You can apply for any of the above schemes online here: https://www.southernwater.co.uk/help-and-support/what-if-i-cant-pay-my-bill/

In addition, Southern Water also has a hardship fund that can provide one-off bill reductions, grants and write-offs. And vulnerable customers can sign up to their Priority Services Register to ensure that, in the event of the water going off, they will receive bottled water first.

As part of our Carers’ Project, our Health and Well Adviser at Eastleigh has helped multiple clients to successfully make applications to these schemes. One such client was a disabled widow with no savings and little income. Although she was already on the Priority Services Register for gas and electricity, she was not signed up for water, nor was she on the essentials tariff, despite being eligible. Our Health and Well Adviser assisted her to make both of those applications, meaning that she will receive a significant discount off her water bill in the future, and will also receive bottled water if there is an outage.

If you require any further information about the above, or need help making the online applications, then check out our Get Advice page for details of how to get in touch.