SEVERN TRENT DIVI DWARFS SUPPORT FUND

SEVERN Trent has launched a £30m fund to help low-income families struggling to pay their water bills.

But the water supplier sparked anger with its plans to pay around £154m in dividends to investors.

The support scheme is expected to cut the bills of 100,000 customers by up to 90pc and aims to support 315,000 customers by 2025.

‘As cost of living pressures continue, we’re acting now,’ said Severn Trent boss Liv Garfield. She added: ‘We don’t want anybody in our region feeling nervous about their water bill arriving.’

Management consultant CEPA says 6.5pc of households – around 1.5m – are in water poverty, meaning they spend more than 5pc of their income after housing costs on water bills.

Severn Trent supplies water for an area stretching from the Cotswolds to Lincolnshire, reported a profit for the year of £506m, up 7.5pc on last year, while revenues climbed 6.4pc to £1.9bn.

Separately, the water industry regulator Ofwat yesterday called on firms to do more. Its guidance requires them to help resolve problems without resorting to enforcement action to recover debts.

Firms are also compelled to offer flexible payment options. Ofwat director Emma Kelso said: ‘We want companies to continue to go above and beyond for customers.’