Water and sewerage: changes to the service standards
Applies to England
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) received 251 responses to this consultation in total. This includes 215 responses through Citizen Space (Defra’s online consultation tool) and 36 by email.
The responses were generally favourable, with online respondents showing a median of 82% support for the general proposals and 62% support for the specific proposed payment values.
As a result of the consultation, Defra will bring forward secondary legislation to update the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). At a minimum, the updated GSS will include the changes proposed within this consultation. In some areas where support was low, the proposed changes will be strengthened.
Original consultation
Consultation description
We want to know what you think about changes to the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). These changes aim to improve baseline customer service standards and protection in the water and sewerage sector.
The changes include:
- at least doubling the minimum payments for households and businesses when companies fail to meet the GSS standards
- expanding the standards of service to which customers are entitled to – they will cover a wider range of circumstances, such as when ‘boil water’ notices are issued
Updates to this page
Published 12 August 2024Last updated 17 December 2024 + show all updates
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Summary of responses and government response added.
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First published.