Water poverty in England and Wales

Bradshaw, J.; Huby, M.

doi:10.1332/175982713x669835

Water poverty in England and Wales

Bradshaw, J.; Huby, M.

Authors

J. Bradshaw

M. Huby

Abstract

Water poverty is conventionally defined as households spending more than 3% and 5% of their net income after housing costs on water. Water bills have risen faster than general prices and faster than earnings since privatisation. In 2009/10, 23.6% of households paying for water in England and Wales were spending more than 3% of their income on water and sewerage and 11.5% were spending more than 5% of their income. The article explores variation in water poverty and prospects for the future. If water bills rise 1% per year faster than household income, water poverty will increase to 35% by 2033 based on a 3% definition. Policy options are discussed.

Citation

Bradshaw, J., & Huby, M. (2013). Water poverty in England and Wales. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 21(2), 137-148. https://doi.org/10.1332/175982713x669835

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jun 1, 2013
Deposit Date	Jul 31, 2013
Publicly Available Date	Jul 24, 2014
Journal	Journal of Poverty and Social Justice
Print ISSN	1759-8273
Electronic ISSN	1759-8281
Publisher	Bristol University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	21
Issue	2
Pages	137-148
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1332/175982713x669835
Keywords	Water charges, Water poverty.

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Copyright Statement
This is a post-peer-review pre-copy edited version of an article published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Bradshaw, Jonathan and Huby, Meg (2013) 'Water poverty in England and Wales.' Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 21(2): 137-148 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/175982713X669835