Policy & Research

Water

There can be no doubt that water is an essential service and when problems occur, such as with frozen pipes in winter, it can be a stark reminder how critical it is to life.

It is absolutely vital that households and businesses across Scotland have access to a high quality water service and importantly that they get a fair deal.

Public drinking water and sewerage services are provided by a public sector corporation, Scottish Water. In every part of Scotland households pay a fixed price for water through additional water and sewerage charges added to council tax bills – the amount depends on the council tax band and households can pay up to £787 a year. Businesses in Scotland are billed for what they use based on water meter readings – for the small number of business who don’t have a meter this is based on the council tax banding system (rateable value).

In August 2011 Consumer Focus Scotland became the advocate for water consumers in Scotland and our clear goal is to ensure that the needs of consumers are at the heart of key decisions taken on water issues.

We already advocate for consumers on a number of important areas such as energy, post, digital and legal services, were we have produced many big wins for consumers in Scotland.  We are pleased to also be able to stand up for water consumers in Scotland and, specifically, we will be doing everything in our power to represent the view and interests of domestic and small business water consumers.

To help us do this our functions now include an additional range of statutory powers and duties which means a number of organisations must consult, co-operate with and take account of the views of Consumer Focus Scotland on water issues – these are Scottish Ministers, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, Scottish Water, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

As a matter of urgency we are working with consumers and stakeholder organisations to shape our advocacy priorities and embark on a programme of research focused on getting to the bottom of a number of issues for water consumers, recommending solutions and improvements based on clear evidence and, above all, making a positive difference to water consumers in Scotland.

Over the coming months please check back on this website for further information about the work we are undertaking.

To view our Work Plan for water please click here.

Water complaints

If you wish to make a complaint about your water and sewerage provider, please contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman - 0800 377 7330