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SUBMISSION ON THE REFORM OF WATER AND SEWAGE SERVICES
Communities Against the Water Tax
Submission on the Reform of Water and Sewerage Services in NI,
March 2005
Communities Against the Water Tax, 185 Clifton Park Avenue,
Belfast BT14 6DT. Te: 028 90749147 Email: cawt@btconnect.com
Submission on the Reform of Water and Sewerage Services in NI, March 2005
Communities Against the Water Tax is totally opposed to plans to introduce water charges. We are opposed the privatisation of the water and sewerage service and we oppose plans to make 600 staff redundant.
We believe that the consultation process currently underway is a sham. There has been no attempt to seriously engage with the community over whether there should be water charging in the first place. The government has decided to introduce water charges and is asking households what is the best way to rip them off.
Households already pay for their water and sewerage services through their local rates. The average rates bill is currently £509 and the current contribution to the water and sewerage service from each household is approximately £190 per year. This will rise to over £200 per year in 2006 given the minister’s recent announcement to increase domestic rates by 9% per year.
This equates to an annual contribution to water and sewerage services of £120 million per year or £2.4 billion over a twenty year period. This is equal to 80% of the funding required by the government.
We are aware that those who pay rates in the non-domestic sector also make a significant contribution to water and sewerage services. According to the Water Reform Unit, the domestic and non-domestic sectors uses about 50% each of water and sewerage services. If the domestic sector provides £2.4 billion over 20 years it would be safe to assume, if equality standards are applied, that the non-domestic sector will raise £2.4 billion in a twenty year period.
This means that revenue from the regional rate and charges for those who do not pay rates would bring in revenue of £4.8 billion for water and sewerage services.
The government have told lies about how water and sewerage services are funded. They are shamed by the Rates Collection Agency website which clearly shows that a contribution from our regional rates goes to the water and sewerage service.
Instead of recognising this situation the government insist on asking householders and small businesses to pay a second time for a service that we already pay for.
The average household will be asked to fork out an additional £340 per household in water and sewerage charges. This will raise approxminately £214 million per year which is equal to £4.3 billion over twenty years.
If the non-domestic sector also pay for their share of water and sewerage services that would be a total income of £8.6 billion over a twenty year period.
If we add the amount of revenue raised in both rates and new water charges over a period of twenty years we would have an income of £13.3 billion! This is for a service which the government states needs an investment of £3 billion over a twenty year period.
The government proposals are a con. If they pull it off it will be the biggest financial con in history and will make the Northern Bank robbers look like a bunch of boy scouts.
It is clear that the government see the introduction of water charges as a new tax raising power to raise government revenue due to the fact that under the Good Friday Agreement no other instrument outside the regional rate exists for increasing taxation in Northern Ireland.
We are opposed to the charging proposals outlined in the Policy Proposals Paper. Those on benefit and eking out an existence on low pay will not be able to afford to pay 75% of water charges. The government’s proposals will introduce a new condition in Northern Ireland — water poverty. Families will forced deeper and deeper into debt and arrears and this policy contradicts the government alleged commitment to New Targeting Social Need.
We believe that the right to water is a fundamental human right. Water is not and should not become a commodity. We believe that the plans to make water and sewerage self-financing will turn water into a commodity. We are therefore opposed to water and sewerage becoming self-financing.
We do not believe that local households should be held accountable for the decades of government neglect of the water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland. Why was the water and sewerage services under funded by Direct Rule governments? Why was the situation allowed to deteriorate to the extent that it was? We believe that there should be an inquiry into why this situation was tolerated for so long.
Households are now being asked to pay for decades of government incompetence and neglect. The proposals to introduce an additional water charge amounts to a new tax. Communities Against the Water Tax believes that government should fund the investment of the water and sewerage service.
We believe that the consultation document and the accompanying leaflet are at best deceptive and at worst tell outright lies. It claims that household do not currently pay for water services. We know that they do. The introduction of an additional tax for water is double taxation.
The present direct rule administration has no democratic mandate to introduce this Water Tax. No-one here voted for water charges and no NI political parties campaigned for the introduction of water charges.
This Water Tax is unfair as it will hit the poorest and most vulnerable families the hardest. We do not believe that tinkering with a water charging system will seriously alleviate the burden that would be placed on the poorest and most vulnerable families.
We are of the opinion that a major flaw of the document is its failure to address how the non-domestic sector will pay for water and sewerage services in the future. Presently industrial de-rating acts as a public sector subsidy to the industrial sector. We fully support the ending of industrial de-rating. However, the document fails to outline how industry and other areas of the non-domestic sector will pay for their water and sewerage.
In terms of the future delivery of water and sewerage services we believe that the options presented in the consultation document are limited. The five options are an attempt to divest responsibility of water and sewerage services outside the public sector. All these options will lead to the privatisation of water and sewerage services either by the front door or the back door.
Where these options have been tried in England, Scotland and Wales they have led to job losses, increased arrears and reduced value and accountability to the public. We are opposed to these five options.
We believe that there is a need for change in the water and sewerage service. The present status quo cannot continue. There is a need for massive investment in water and sewerage whilst preserving the environment. However, the present consultation document does not provide us with the solutions to the present problems and should be withdrawn. Then a serious debate and discussion can take place on the future of water and sewerage services in NI.
Communities Against the Water Tax, 185 Clifton Park Avenue,
Belfast BT14 6DT. Te: 028 90749147 Email: cawt@btconnect.com
Oct 6 2005 08:26 pm
DON'T PAY TWICE - IT AIN/T RIGHT!
NO
TAP
TAX
C.A.W.T.
Water Charges — Government sums don’t add up
1.0 The current average household rates bill is = £509.
2.0 The contribution from your domestic rates bill to the Water and Sewerage Service is 37%. In 1999 75% of your Regional Rate contribution went to the water and sewerage service.
3.0 Therefore the average contribution to the Water and Sewerage Service is = £188.33.
4.0 If you multiply the average household contribution [£188.33] by the number of domestic households [630,000] and you get £118.6 million [£118,647,900] per year.
5.0 The government have said that we need £3 billion to invest in water and sewerage over a 20 year period. If you multiply the annual household contribution for water and sewerage over 20 years and an income of £2.3 billion [£2,372,958,00].
6.0 The domestic sector uses around 50% of water and sewerage services in NI. If the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors pay for their 50% the total funding which could be raised for the Water and Sewerage Service is £4.745 billion [£4,745,916,000].
7.0 So why does the government propose that we need additional water charges?
8.0 If we do pay an average of £340 per household in water and sewerage charges we will raise £214 million per year which is equal to £4.3 billion over twenty years.
9.0 If the non-domestic sector also pay for their share of water and sewerage services that would be a total income of £8.6 billion over a twenty year period.
10.0 If we add the amount of revenue raised in both rates and new water charges over a period of twenty years we would have an income of £13.3 billion! So we don’t need water charges!
MAY DAY 2003
MAY DAY 2004
ARDOYNE FOCUS GROUP NEWS
NEW WATER bills will now be coming through YOUR door on 1st April 2007. Every household will be asked to pay this new charge. Bills will be based on the value of your home, whether you own or rent it. There will be no rebate for householders on benefits. Yet you already pay for your water and sewerage through your local rates. The water tax is a double tax. Communities Against the Water Tax is a community campaign set up to oppose water charges and we are saying: Don’t Pay Twice!
The first bills coming through doors in Ardoyne for residents living in a 3 bed house in Alliance Avenue will be £280 a year; a 2 bed household in Holmedene Gardens will pay £250 a year; a 2 bed householder in Duneden Park will pay the same; and a two bed household in Ladbrooke Drive will be asked to fork out £260 a year.
Water charges will be gradually introduced with households being asked to pay one-third of the full bill in 2007, two-thirds in 2008 and the total bill in 2009. Families on benefits, pensions and the unemployed are being asked to pay 75% of the charge.
The water tax is a scam by the government to raise more money and the water charge is a new water tax. The government now realises that the underfunding in water and sewerage services can no longer be sustained. The question is: how much is needed to bring our water and sewerage system up to scratch and how will pay for it?
The government insists that £3 billion is needed over a 20 year period to modernize the current water and sewerage system. They argue that this money should come from you through new water charges.
But you already pay for your water and sewerage service through your local rates. 37% of your rates bill goes to the water and sewerage services. The average rates bill across the North is currently £509 and the current contribution to the water and sewerage service from each household is approximately £190 per year. This equates to an annual contribution to water and sewerage services of £120 million per year or £2.4 billion over a twenty year period.
We are aware that those who pay rates in the non-domestic sector also make a significant contribution to water and sewerage services. According to the Water Reform Unit, the domestic and non-domestic sectors uses about 50% each of water and sewerage services. If the domestic sector provides £2.4 billion over 20 years it would be safe to assume, if equality standards are applied, that the non-domestic sector will raise £2.4 billion in a twenty year period.
This means that revenue from the regional rate and charges for those who do not pay rates would bring in revenue of £4.8 billion for water and sewerage services.
The average household will be asked to fork out an additional £340 per household in water and sewerage charges. This will raise around £214 million per year which is equal to £4.3 billion over twenty years. If the non-domestic sector also pay for their share of water and sewerage services that would be a total income of £8.6 billion over a twenty year period.
If we add the amount of revenue raised in both rates and new water charges over a period of twenty years we would have an income of £13.3 billion! This is for a service which the government states needs an investment of £3 billion over a twenty year period. The government proposals are a con. If they pull it off it will be the biggest financial con in history and will make the Northern Bank robbers look like a bunch of boy scouts.
Local residents now need to get organised to oppose water charges. We will organise a public meeting in Ardoyne in the next few months to set up a local campaign to mobilise opposition against the charges. If you want to get involved contact: Manus Maguire, Communities Against the Water Tax, 185 Clifton Park Avenue, Belfast BT14 6DT Tel: 02890749147 or email: cawt@btconnect.com.
