Sussex is better off with water meters - Norman Baker

6.48.49am BST (GMT +0100) Sun 14th Aug 2005

Lewes MP and Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Norman Baker, has called on the Government to take urgent action to combat the increasing water shortages across the South East by introducing universal metering. Norman has obtained new figures which show that the average bill paid by metered households to Southern and South East Water is less than those paid by unmetered households. Norman is also calling for the Vulnerable Group regulations to be strengthened to help the poorest families, and those with special health needs, who receive metered supplies.

Commenting on this, Norman says:

"Hosepipe bans are commonplace almost every year in England, particularly in the South East. Instead of trying to solve the problem by measures such as building more reservoirs or desalinisation plants, such as the one proposed for Newhaven, we should instead be looking to save more of the precious resource we already have.

"Water metering is a well proven method of reducing water consumption. In the Isle of Wight where universal metering was introduced use fell by around 10%. Additionally, installing a water meter in your house will save water users money. These new figures show that, on average, South East Water customers with metering pay around £25 less per year than those without."

"John Prescott's plans for thousands more homes in the South-East will put tremendous extra pressure on water resources already made scarcer by climate change and extra demand. The Government must stop avoiding difficult political decisions, and commit itself to universal metering."