Surviving the Wilderness: The landscape of personal debt in the UK
Date: 04th Nov 2020
Following on from the June 2020 NEA policy paper “The Gathering Storm: Utility Debt and Covid-19”, this paper provides an evidence synthesis of personal debt, both prior and post the Covid-19 outbreak, with a focus on the shift from consumer debt, such as loans and credit cards, to household debts, such as arrears with utility providers, offering a comparison of known debt levels in energy, water and local government. It aims to alert policy makers to the consequences of negative budgets and problem debt, proposing a definition of ‘severe indebtedness’ for utilities to consider in their debt management practices, whilst identifying further areas of best practice which can be replicated across different sectors. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations which can be applied across all sectors to mitigate the impacts of personal debt and arrears following the pandemic and avoid low-income and vulnerable householders falling deeper into financial difficulty.
Download the full report below.
NEA briefing paper on April 2022 price rises in water
04th Feb 2022
Water UK has announced the domestic water bill in England and Wales will rise by as much at 10.8% from 1st April.
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s consultation “PR24 and beyond: Performance commitments for future price reviews”
13th Jan 2022
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s consultation “PR24 and beyond: Performance commitments for future price reviews”
NEA response to Defra’s consultation on a new strategic policy statement for Ofwat
24th Sep 2021
NEA is pleased to respond to this open consultation on a new Strategic Policy Statement for Ofwat, providing our thoughts and suggested amendments on each of the following proposed priorities.
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s Payment, help and debt guidelines consultation, 2021
28th Jul 2021
NEA is pleased to respond to this open consultation on the proposed changes to the guidelines for water companies in supporting residential customers to pay their bill, access help and repay debts.
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s consultation ‘PR24 and beyond: Creating tomorrow, together
22nd Jul 2021
NEA is pleased to respond to this open consultation on the vision for the next water price review, PR24, highlighting opportunities to strengthen the vision around customer affordability and vulnerability.
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s consultation their forward programme 2021/22
22nd Feb 2021
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s consultation on their forward programme for 2021/22 outlines four key areas of focus.
NEA response to Ofwat consultation: PR24 and beyond - Reflecting customer preferences in future price reviews
28th Jan 2021
NEA’s response to Ofwat’s consultation on the role of customer engagement in the next price review, PR24.
NEA response to CCW’s Water Affordability Review call for evidence
15th Dec 2020
NEA’s Response to the CCW Call for Evidence for the Water Affordability Review. NEA considers all aspects of the current affordability support in water, highlighting areas of best practice, possible improvements and learnings from other sectors to help develop a...
COVID water use and the impact on poverty in the UK
11th Nov 2020
A joint report from NEA and Waterwise
Comments on Provisional Findings of Water Redeterminations 2020
28th Oct 2020
NEA recognises that many low-income households experience affordability issues with their essential household bills, rarely struggling with one bill in isolation, and as a result is delivering a programme of work which seeks to support ‘People Living in Water Poverty...
Social Tariffs in Water: The Impact of COVID-19
27th Jun 2020
In the first few months of 2020, the world watched a global pandemic unfold. Countries around the world were imposing strict nationwide lock-downs, with economies basically shutting down to control the spread of the virus. The turning point for the...
Water Poverty: The Consistency of Social Tariffs
26th Jun 2020
In a modern world, water is recognised as a human right. It is understood to be essential to life and yet some are so concerned about the cost of it that they actively decide not to use the water they...
Response to Ofwat innovation funding and competition: further consultation on design and implementation
17th Jun 2020
In our January 2020 response to Ofwat’s forward work plan, we acknowledged that driving innovation across the water sector was vital to address the strategic challenges the industry faces. We believe the innovation competition allows an additional opportunity for companies...
NEA response to Ofwat Forward Work Programme 2020-21
26th Feb 2020
Driving consumer and societal outcomes through company performance should remain a key ambition of Ofwat so that it can continue to demonstrate the legitimacy of a privatised water sector even with the reduced risk of re-nationalisation following the recent general...
Water Poverty: A Common Measurement
26th Aug 2019
This paper sets out to explore how adoption of a common and consistent set of approaches to tackling ‘water poverty’ may lead to successful outcomes for customers. It is designed to generate debate across all interested stakeholders and to consider...
NEA response to Ofwat’s draft determinations PR19
01st Aug 2019
NEA welcomes Ofwat’s recognition of affordability issues with water bills, highlighted by the 3 million customers in England and Wales saying they struggle to pay their water bills. Ofwat’s interventions to ensure bills are reduced by over 12% before inflation...
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