To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the Institution of Environmental Health Officers concerning water supply disconnections; and if he will make a statement.
The Institution of Environment Health Officers originally wrote to my right hon. Friend in November 1992, about the level of disconnections of domestic water supplies for non-payment of water charges and calling for the ability of water companies to disconnect domestic customers to be ended. They have argued that they consider disconnection renders properties unfit for human habitation.In my view, disconnection does not mean that the property is statutorily unfit, as a supply of water remains available and can be readily restored. Both the Government and the Director of General and Water Services see disconnection as a matter of last resort for those customers who can pay but choose not to do so. It is right that customers should pay their bills, but also that where they are having difficulty, companies should ease matters for them so far as possible, for example, by enabling them to pay by frequent instalments. The director general issued guidance to water companies in April 1991, with the aim of ensuring a consistent approach by the companies on those lines. He has recently issued a report on the companies' response to the guidelines and is pursuing, through the regional customer services committees, improvements to individual companies' procedures in the light of their responses.The majority of premises disconnected have their supply restored within 48 hours. Generally, a customer may be disconnected only after the company has obtained a court judgment for unpaid charges.