Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of metered households in each local authority area in England which (a) are eligible for and (b) that have been granted assistance in paying their water bills under the Vulnerable Groups Regulations.

Ian Pearson: The Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999 apply for metered customers who meet certain criteria to protect them from paying large water bills.

Ofwat, the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, collects data on the number of households receiving assistance under the Vulnerable Groups Regulations in the water companies' annual June returns. The latest figures on the number of households that have been granted assistance in paying their water bills are from 2005-06 and are reported by water company rather than local authority area, and are set out in the following table.