§ Lord Hamptonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether charges to the consumers of the water, gas, electricity and telecom industries have risen or declined since privatisation, and by what amounts.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Transport (Lord Brabazon of Tara)My Lords, since privatisation the customers of British Gas and BT have seen their prices reduced in real terms by about 15 per cent. and more than 20 per cent. respectively. The regional electricity companies which were privatised in December 1990 have announced price rises for 1991 averaging 10.5 per cent. The ten privatised water companies have increased average household water and sewerage bills by about 30 per cent. since privatisation (the charges at the time of privatisation in December 1989 came into effect in April 1989).