Ofwat is seeking comment on its updated guidelines on services for disabled or elderly consumers.

In February 2008 the Consumer Council for Water (CCW)  wrote to all the water companies listing a number of recommendations where it felt more could be done to encourage consumers to register for special assistance. These focused on how companies could develop and maintain links with other utilities and agencies such as Primary Care Trusts. Ofwat has accepted CCW suggestions that the guidelines should be amended to include:

• requiring companies to improve their use of electronic communications both in accepting and responding to applications/queries about the services; and
• requiring companies to ensure that staff are trained and regularly updated on how to deal with elderly and disabled consumers, and for companies to consider involving specialist external organisations when delivering training.

Ofwat is also proposing to make a range of other limited updates which it believes will improve the overall value of the guidelines. These include:

• amending all previous references to the "customer" to the "consumer" or "bill payer" (as appropriate);
• clarifying the definition of "disabled" to include consumers who are blind or partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing and the definition of "illness" to include those with learning difficulties or mental health problems;
• expectation on companies to include details on their registers of consumers who may need assistance during times of flooding (for example, those with mobility problems who may need help if their home has to be evacuated);
• expectation that companies will accept applications from advice agencies as well as from nominated carers;
• clarification of expectations on companies where the consumer is billed through a third party (for example, a local authority billing arrangement) or by a third party (for example, in a resale situation);
• reference added to the UK Water Industry national Distraction Burglary protocol;
• additional emphasis given to staff training, both in recognising eligible customers, and in knowing how to proactively offer services in a sensitive manner; and
• suggesting that companies consider the value of offering some form of incentive to encourage consumers to register.

Ofwat is inviting comment on the updated guidelines by  Friday 25 July 2008.