Water Charges: Consumers Tim Farron To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will estimate the number of households which spent more than 3 per cent. of their disposable income on water bills in each year since 1997. Kevin Brennan [holding answer 23 April 2009]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. Letter from Karen Dunnell: As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will estimate the number of households which spent more than three per cent of their disposable income on water bills in each year since 1997. (270446) The table below shows the number of UK households that spent more than three per cent of their disposable income on water bills in each of the years from 2000/01 to 2006/07. These estimates are based on data collected through the Expenditure and Food Survey, and its predecessor the Family Expenditure Survey, which is a sample survey covering approximately 7,000 households in the UK. Comparable figures prior to 2000/01 are not available. These estimates, as with any involving sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | |Number of households (million)| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2000-01 |3.1 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2001-02 |3.7 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2002-03 |2.5 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2003-04 |2.8 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2004-05 |2.4 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2005-06 |3.0 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |2006-07 |3.2 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Notes:1 Figures for 2000-01 are based on the Family Expenditure Survey (FES). 2 Figures from 2001-02 and onwards are based on the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS). 3 Data taken from the FES include water and sewerage charges, whereas data from the EFS also contain water charges of a second home. 4 Disposable income is all income from: wages, self-employment income, occupational pensions, investment income, imputed income from benefits in kind, and state benefits after the deduction of income tax, employees' national insurance contributions and council tax. Source: Office for National Statistics.| | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------