Around £572,000 is set to be cut from the bills of the most vulnerable people in Gravesham, thanks to a partnership between Gravesham Borough Council and Southern Water.
As part of a data sharing agreement, the council has provided Southern Water with the details of more than 3,200 residents on low incomes or in receipt of benefits who may be eligible for a discount on their bills.
Southern Water will be contacting the residents identified to let them know that they will be moved to its cheaper Essentials tariff payment scheme and will have their bills reduced by an average of £177 a year.
The tariff is designed to help customers who are struggling to pay by providing a discount of at least 45% for households with a low income or who are claiming Pension Credit.
For a number of years, the council has been using its pioneering Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) to identify households in the borough at risk of falling into poverty and who are not claiming all the benefits or discounts they are eligible for to prevent that.
In that time, it has:
- Helped reduce Gravesham households in relative poverty from 3,214 (2,844 children) in April 2021 to 2,305 (2,378 children)
- Run campaigns to increase Pension Credit take-up, now over £356,000 per annum.
- Passed on £914,000 of Household Support Fund monies to the most vulnerable households, helping with energy bills and school/winter clothing for children
- Awarded £130,000 of Council Tax support
- Awarded discretionary energy scheme payments to 6,152 households totalling £248,743
The council will continue to pass on the details of any residents that may be eligible for the Essentials tariff to Southern Water.
The partnership will be subject to strict rules around personal data and security and the information shared is solely for the purpose of benefiting eligible residents.
Cllr Narinderjit Singh Thandi, Gravesham Borough Council’s cabinet member for Performance and Administration, said: “We know that in parts of our borough we have some of the most vulnerable people living in the most deprived wards in the country.
“Using LIFT, we are doing all we can to identify those most in need of support who may not even realise the seriousness of the situation they find themselves in and are working with them to make sure they are receiving all the help they are entitled to.
“That’s why this partnership with Southern Water is so important. The money saved by those households transferring onto the Essentials tariff will make a real difference for more than 3,000 families in the borough, and I thank Southern Water for helping us to help them.”
Nicky Chitty, Southern Water’s affordability and vulnerability lead, said: “We are delighted to be working together with colleagues at Gravesham so that no households miss out on the support they may be entitled to.
“By joining our Essentials tariff, these customers will automatically receive a minimum discount of 45% off their bills.”
Find out more about our partnership with Southern Water.
If you are struggling to pay your water bill, visit Southern Water's help and support page.