Martin Ford 06 May 2021

Lambeth to reimburse £27m of water bills

Lambeth to reimburse £27m of water bills image

Lambeth LBC faces a bill of up to £26.5m to reimburse residents overcharged for water bills.

The council’s decision to pay out the money follows years of legal wrangling over agreements under which local authorities collected charges on behalf of Thames Water.

Lambeth retained a proportion of the charges, which were agreed by the water company, and, in return, was responsible for pursuing tenants for non-payment.

Officers believe Thames Water has 70 ‘broadly similar’ contracts with other London boroughs, district councils and housing associations.

However, the High Court has ruled that, under such arrangements, councils should be classed as a ‘reseller’ and not an agent, and therefore households legally should have received discounts on their bills.

A court of appeal test case was dismissed in October 2020 and Lambeth’s legal experts have concluded ‘further pursuing the test case at the Supreme Court would not result in success’.

The council is facing costs of almost £18m to reimburse current tenants and up to £8.6m for former tenants, although it expects actual costs to be less in the latter case.

It has £22m of reserves put aside to cover the reimbursement.

The agreement between Lambeth and Thames Water was terminated in March 2020.

In a report, officers concluded: ‘With hindsight, this means that the council’s arrangements with Thames Water were poor from a commercial perspective because it has taken on the debt collection administration and bad debt risk associated with the water charges without any consideration in return.’

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Financial Strategy Manager (Revenue)

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
Negotiable
Bring clarity to complex decisions and help shape how we invest in our borough's future.Bring clarity to complex decisions and help shape how we inves England, London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Team Manager - Locality

Wakefield Council
£55,979.00, Grade 13
Wakefield Children’s Services have been rated by Ofsted as GOOD with outstanding leadership. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council

Safeguarding Business Support

Wakefield Council
£12,792.00 - £13,634.50, Grade 5, 18.5 hours, Temporary- 12 Months Maternity Cover
An opportunity has arisen for an Administrator to support the Integrated Front Door Service Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council

Registered Homes Manager

Durham County Council
Grade 14 £48,710 - £52,805 (Pay Award Pending) plus £2,500 recruitment/retention allowance and £3,500 market supplement. The salary with additional payments equate to an earning potential per annum of £58,805 at the top of the grade.
Salary
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Team Manager, Connected Carers

Durham County Council
Grade 14 £48,710 - £52,805 (Pay Award Pending)
Are you passionate about supporting children to remain within their family networks? Do you have the leadership skills to guide a dedicated team worki Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner