Disability Alliance Factsheet

The WaterSure scheme

What is it?

The WaterSure scheme (formerly the vulnerable household scheme) is intended to help you if you have a water meter installed and you have difficulties paying for your water charges because you need to use a lot of water or are on a low income.

The scheme only operates in England and Wales.

What are the rules?

To get help under the WaterSure scheme you or anyone else living with you has to be:

(a) entitled to receive one or more of the following:

main council tax benefit
housing benefit
income support
working tax credit
income-based job-seeker's allowance
child tax credit (except families in receipt of the family element only)
pension credit
income related employment and support allowance

and either,

(b) be entitled to receive child benefit for three or more children under the age of nineteen who reside in the premises or

(c) diagnosed as suffering from, or has a child under nineteen who resides in the premises diagnosed as suffering from one or more of the following -

Desquamation (flaky skin disease)
Weeping skin disease
Incontinence
Abdominal stoma
Eczema, psoriasis or varicose ulceration (weeping skin disease)
Crohn's disease
Ulcerative colitis
Renal failure requiring dialysis at home, unless a contribution to the cost of water consumed in the process of dialysis during the billing period is made by the health authority
any other medical condition which requires the use of significant additional water and can be supported with a doctor's certificate

How do I claim?

Contact your local water supplier.

Where can I get more help and information?

You can find information about and links to all UK water companies at www.water-guide.org.uk.

The Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) has published a report on "Water affordability in England and Wales" available to download at http://php.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/pubs/1197/.