During Thursday's instalment of Good Morning Britain, ITV viewers saw news correspondent Richard Gaisford reporting live from Langstone Harbour as he waited for OFWAT, the regulating body, to share its announcement on rising water bills. Charlotte Hawkins told people bills were expected to increase by at least 21 percent over the next five years; however, Jonathan received the actual figure live on air.
He commented: "Well, we're just hearing from the regulator OFWAT that, on average, across England and Wales, water bills will go up over the next five years by 36 percent. "That's the average figure here in the Southern Water region; we're expecting a 53 percent rise in those water bills to pay for so much of the mess that we've been talking about this morning.
"That means that in this part of the world, people's bills will go up by some £222 over that five-year period, so a significant rise for so many people as we've been talking about this morning at a time when so many people can least afford it.". Speaking about the figures, Charlotte commented: "That means £31 a year increasing each year over the next five years. That's a significant amount of money, isn't it for people? In a typical household.".
Richard agreed, saying: "It's a lot more than what anyone was expecting. We were expecting 21 percent and £20 a year, but 36 percent and £31. That's the average!". Highlighting that the Southern region will be rising by 53 percent, Richard let out a loud whistle in disbelief. Charlotte addressed that many people in that area are currently without water because of supplier issues.
