WRITTEN QUESTION E-2366/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Council

(28 August 2001)

Subject: Utilities bill for low-income users

Under the 1991 UK Water Industries Act, water companies set their water charges according to the rateable value of the property they were serving.

In a recent case in the South-West, a low-income constituent of mine, Mr Ken Cole, was charged a high price for his water consumption, because the property he was living in at the time had a high rateable value.

Although he is on a low income and unable to pay this bill, the water company has pursued Mr Cole through the courts to reclaim its money.

The Water Industry Act of 1999 has changed this situation, and enables water companies to more accurately tailor their bills to reflect the real water consumption of their customers. However, this legislation is not retrospective. As a result, Mr Cole's previous iniquitous situation has been recognised, but unfortunately it will not alter the fact that he still is confronted with a bill of £ 700 which the Courts in England say he is legally obliged to pay.

Would the Council of Ministers consider intervening in national issues to help low-income groups who are penalised in this way?

Reply

(6 December 2001)

The Council regrets to inform the Honourable Member, that it is not within its powers to interfere directly in domestic matters such as water pricing or, indeed, local taxation.

The Council would like to recall, however, that it devotes considerable effort at present to the questions of combating poverty and social exclusion.

The Council's work is being prepared and coordinated, as its first priority, by the Social Protection Committee, set up by the Council in June 2000, and operating within the framework of the new open method of coordination, as defined by the Lisbon European Council in March 2000. Subsequent European Councils have given additional emphasis to these activities.

This work is being pursued intensively and is covering a wide range of issues, given the very multidimensional character of poverty and social exclusion. Currently the Committee, together with the Commission, is preparing a joint Commission/Council report based on the National Action Plans on social inclusion. It is also working on a set of indicators, to enhance future cooperation and development. The results of these two activities are to be submitted to the Laeken European Council in December 2001.

Moreover, the Council and the European Parliament have just reached agreement on a draft Decision establishing a five-year programme (2002-2006) of Community action to encourage cooperation between Member States in combating social exclusion, with a budget of 75 million. The objectives of the Programme are the improvement of the understanding of the phenomena of social exclusion and poverty, the organising of exchanges of experience on policies followed and the promotion of mutual learning, as well as the development of the capacity of operators to address social exclusion and poverty effectively.

It has to be stressed that the programme to combat social exclusion complements actions funded by the European Social Fund and under the Equal initiative to combat poverty.