HC Deb 09 February 1989 vol 146 cc772-3W
Mr. Evennett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce details of the guaranteed standards scheme for domestic customers of the privatised water industry.

Mr. Howard

The Government's proposed guaranteed standards scheme which I am setting out today is a no-nonsense, no-quibble scheme providing a spur to management to ensure the best commercial practices. Customers who suffer inconvenience will receive an automatic entitlement to a payment or credit of £5 for every day, or each occasion, that a breach of one of the standards or service occurs. This will avoid the frustration customers at present experience because they cannot obtain any compensation in such cases. The scheme covers delays beyond the period notified by the company for restoring water supplies following a planned interruption of supply; delays of more than 24 hours in restoring water supplies following an unplanned interruption which has been notified to the company; appointments which are not kept on the day specified by the company to the customer; failure to answer all reasonable written inquiries about bills or requests for alternative method of payment which take more than 10 to 20 working days depending on the need for further investigation; failure to answer reasonable written complaints about water supply or sewerage services within a specified period.

I am discussing detailed targets with the industry before we lay the draft regulations.

I also welcome today's announcement by the Water Authorities Association and the Water Companies Association of their three draft codes of practice.

The outline model general code of practice for customers, on which the new companies will base their codes of practice for customers, will clarify the services to be provided and their terms and conditions. It also contains useful advice on enquiries and complaints procedures.

The code of practice on leakages sets the terms under which metered domestic customers will be entitled to a one-off discount against a higher than expected bills as a result of an undetected leak from a supply pipe. The discount is conditional on the customer repairing the leak within a specified period.

The revised code of practice on disconnection provides valuable advice and new safeguards for customers who have difficulty paying their bills. It sets out procedures to be followed before disconnection. I welcome the water industry's continued efforts to ensure that the occasions on which disconnection occurs should be kept to the absolute minimum of those customers who can pay but refuse to do so.

These new rights for water customers are in addition to the new framework of individual statutory rights for customers and the companies' duties to provide service. They add to the protection provided by the director general who ensures that customers are not over charged or suffer loss of service quality, and also to our proposals for customer representation and investigation of complaints.

I will be making copies available in the House Library of the guaranteed standards scheme and, with the agreement of the industry, copies of the three draft customer codes of practice.