My Lords, I begin by declaring an interest in a company that designs and manufactures smart meters for gas, electricity and water; the amendment is about water.
I shall not rehearse the arguments about water metering, which were well aired in Committee. The present situation is clear: a householder who wants a water meter is entitled to have one. However, no one is charged for their water by metered volume unless they want to pay in that way or they live in an area designated by the Secretary of State as one of water stress. As has been pointed out by the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, that situation obtains despite the fact that in 2009 the independent Walker review of water charging set up by Defra concluded that charging by water volume was the only fair and sustainable basis for charging.
In Committee, I pointed out that regardless of the considerable fairness, efficiency and environmental benefits of metering, there were two other important considerations. First, because meters are relatively expensive to install on a one-off basis, it is much more cost-effective if a whole street or neighbourhood is done together. Secondly, because we live in times of changing climate and weather, an area that previously enjoyed an abundant supply of water may become water-stressed quickly and unexpectedly. If meters are already in place, it would be possible to respond to the changed conditions much more quickly. This means that there are good reasons to allow water suppliers to install meters at their discretion and convenience, while leaving the decision on whether to use those meters for water charging with the Secretary of State or the householder. This would allow meter installation at minimum cost and permit a timely response to water stress, if needed, and it was the essence of the amendment that I introduced in Committee.
In subsequent discussions with the Minister, his officials and the supporting Front Bench team, for which I am very grateful, the view was that water companies already had the authority to carry out general meter installation and that this amendment was unnecessary. Numerous communications which I have had since that time—I continue to receive them—suggest that this fact is not well known. I have tabled the present amendment at least in part to allow the Minister to make an authoritative statement on the present situation.
I will make a couple of comments on today’s amendment, the wording for which was offered by WWF and several collaborating organisations. First, I have to apologise to them and to the House that the wording in the amendment is in fact not the most recent wording—but never mind, it gives us an opportunity to discuss the general problem. The amendment would allow water companies to introduce universal metering if, after consultation with customers through the existing water resources management plan and business plan processes, it is found to be the most affordable option for customers overall as well as being the best option for water resources management. This will be consistent with the new resilience duty of Ofwat, and I strongly endorse that proposal. The present procedures for metering approval need widening and are glacially slow even when all those directly affected are in agreement.
Secondly, the text of the amendment provides an excellent illustration of the need for the Secretary of State to supply a clear and authoritative statement on metering to clarify the tortuous complexity of the present legislation. It is hardly surprising if water companies are confused about the law, if indeed they are. The subject matter is not intrinsically complicated, but successive layers of amending legislation, laid one upon the other, make the present state of the law difficult to discover without a great deal of work. At an earlier stage the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, assured me and the House that codification of water legislation would receive the attention of the department. I wonder whether the Minister could simply comment on any progress that has been made.
In conclusion, I believe that metering is important both to give consumers a fair deal and to help the environment. We ought to make it less expensive and easier to accomplish. I beg to move.