7
Social tariffs, for water and broadband, provide services at a discounted price for consumers on...
Conclusion
Social tariffs, for water and broadband, provide services at a discounted price for consumers on lower incomes.7 Take-up of social tariffs has increased, but remains very low.8 Only 6% of water customers in England and Wales, and fewer than 9% of eligible broadband customers, are on social tariffs.9 Martin Lewis referenced research by Policy in Practice, a social policy software and analytics company. Policy in Practice estimates that the number of households missing out on social tariffs and related support could be as high as 6.1 million households in water, and 8.4 million households in broadband.10 Awareness remains low, with only 39% of people who need financial help from their water company aware that that this is something that they can ask for, and an even lower percentage (34%) in broadband.11
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
13th Report - Regulation of water, energy and broadband
11 Sep 2026
HC 105
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Report published
11 Sep 2026