United Utilities goes ‘beyond the bill’ to bring North West agencies together to support people in need

United Utilities brought organisations that interact with vulnerable customers and those experiencing financial difficulty for its first Affordability and Vulnerability summit.

The water company for the North West has been holding separate affordability and vulnerability summits for the past five years, but this year brought them together for the first time.

The event had the theme ‘going beyond the bill’ provided an opportunity for representatives from a wide range of organisations to share experiences and discuss ways to be more joined up when it comes to helping people across the region.

Guest speakers included Salford Mind, Kidney Care UK and Newground a North West charity which supports communities through employment advice, skills training, youth programs and environmental projects.

United Utilities supports more 490,000 customers with affordability assistance through several payment support schemes. These include its Back on Track Scheme; Help to Pay Scheme and Payment Break Scheme. Customers may also find it’s cheaper on a water meter, particularly if they have more bedrooms than people.

The company also runs a Priority Services scheme to help vulnerable customers and has seen a significant increase in registrations. During the last five years the number of people registered has increased by 375% and more than 612,000 people are registered.

Mike Gauterin, Customer Services and Technology Director, said: “We know that affordability and vulnerability can often go hand in hand, so it made sense to bring the conversation together.

“It was a really successful day that brought a wide range of agencies together in one place allowed us all to share our experience and discuss ideas on how we can work together and be better joined up.

The summit was chaired by Dave Thompson MBE DL, Chief Executive at the Disability Partnership and Chair of United Utilities’ Affordability and Vulnerability Panel. He said: “Bringing all these support organisations together is really powerful. As well as sharing information with them about the support that United Utilities offers, the summit provided an opportunity to hear first-hand from organisations about how they support vulnerable clients from across the North West.”

Customers can find out more about the company’s support schemes here.