Discover, Discuss, Decide: Consultation

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Discover, Discuss, Decide: Consultation

Summary of responses

Report to: Anglian Water April 2013

Prepared by Dialogue by Design

Dialogue by Design 252B Gray’s Inn Road London WC1X 8XG

Telephone: 020 7042 8000

Email: [email protected] Website: www.dialoguebydesign.net

Company registration no. in England and Wales: 3856988 VAT registration no. 123 4151 58

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Executive summary

Introduction

In 2013, Anglian Water initiated its widest ever consultation with customers and stakeholders on its proposals to shape the future of its water services for years to come. This report gives an account of the findings from this consultation.

Every five years, water companies review the price they charge their customers for the water they supply. This price review process involves taking into account and balancing a wide range of different and sometimes competing priorities. To inform the development of its business plan for the next price review – known as PR14 – and its longer-term strategy, Anglian Water has developed a programme of engagement and communication called

‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’. As part of the PR14 process, the water regulator, Ofwat, asked each water company to set up an independent ‘customer challenge group’. Anglian Water has convened its own independent panel of experts, the Customer Engagement Forum (CEF).

Through ‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’, Anglian Water aims to establish an ongoing

conversation with its customers and stakeholders, providing information and understanding their views. The broad aim of the programme is to help Anglian Water determine the best possible balance of priorities for investment while delivering high quality customer service and keeping customers’ bills affordable.

The consultation centred around a document which described ten different outcomes that Anglian Water wants to achieve. The document was developed with input from the CEF. It provided respondents with the opportunity to ‘Discover’ information about Anglian Water,

‘Discuss’ and consider what they think, and then help ‘Decide’ the future of services by responding to the consultation questions. Respondents could submit their views by using the online response form, the paper response form, via email or letter, or in some cases via customer services representatives.

The views collected in this consultation will inform Anglian Water’s draft business plan, to be published in summer 2013. This will explain how Anglian Water thinks the different choices are best balanced. Customers and stakeholders will again be asked for their views on this draft plan later in 2013. The findings from this will inform the final business plan, to be published in December 2013, and Anglian Water’s longer term strategy.

The consultation asked twelve questions, each of which focused on one of the outcomes described in the consultation document. Five of the questions were open, so that

respondents could contribute their own thoughts in as little or great detail as they wished.

The remaining seven questions were multiple-choice. Because the respondents chose to take part in the consultation, they cannot be taken as a representative sample of Anglian Water’s customers or stakeholders or of the wider population. This means that the findings from the consultation describe only the views of the respondents and cannot be generalised over a wider group.

Overall balance of responses

The consultation process has generated a wide variety of comments and suggestions thus far, from Anglian Water customers (household and business), employees and stakeholders.

We cannot say with certainty how many respondents fall into each of these groups, as some employees and stakeholders might have chosen to respond as customers. However, where

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people identifying themselves as employees have raised issues not raised by other respondents, we have noted that these issues are specific to employees.

Overview of responses by issue

The issues that have attracted the most attention so far are support for paying bills and lower tariffs, catchment management, water quality, customer service, more communication about Anglian Water’s work and the importance of education on water conservation.

Satisfied customers

The majority of people who comment directly on Anglian Water’s customer service are satisfied, praising it for providing excellent support and urging it to maintain its current high standards.

Where room for improvement in customer services is identified this is primarily in relation to communications, including timeliness of response and reliability from Anglian Water’s customer services.

Positive suggestions made by respondents range from providing more frequent updates on engineer calls at home and works in the community, to providing more information and advice on bills. Some respondents list specific targets against which to measure customer services, such as fixing a problem on the first visit, better management of calling customers back, following cases through, and learning from the best practice in the field. Many

respondents call for more self-service options for payments and meter readings as well as greater use of technology and social media networks. A number of respondents call for the company to prioritise operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Other respondents express serious concern for sewer flooding in homes and want the company to prioritise eliminating this risk. Some Anglian Water employees offer suggestions for internal improvements to communications, service levels and staff training.

Fair charges

Respondents who comment on the idea of lower tariffs to help some people who struggle to pay their bills have mixed views.

Some support this idea while others oppose it, and many give reasons for their views. Some feel a social duty to help out those who might have difficulty paying their bills and can identify specific groups that might fall into this category, such as older people, people with disabilities and families on a low income. Others see financial benefit in this idea, suggesting that lower payments would reduce non-payments and help to keep everyone’s bills at a reasonable level. Many of the people who oppose lower tariffs do so on the basis of fairness: they say that everyone should pay their own way and be treated equally in terms of tariffs.

Metering is another of respondents’ central concerns. Many think that everyone should be made to switch to a meter as soon as possible. Some think the choice to switch to a meter should remain a choice for the customer to make either in their own time or with

encouragement from Anglian Water. Others would still like to see everyone made to switch to meters but phased in over time to allow people to adjust to changes in their bills.

Some respondents comment on the cost of water generally and many of these say it should either be reduced or that increases in prices should be minimal: while many of these people say that water is currently affordable, they worry that price increases will change this. Others compare the cost of water favourably with the cost of other utilities. A few think that water is undervalued and too cheap. Some respondents are motivated to save water in order to save

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on their bills, while others say that the company can also find ways to save money across its operations.

Safe clean water

Respondents were asked about their views on catchment management, which is defined by Anglian Water as

“influencing land-use practices to reduce pollution before it affects water sources”. Catchment management can involve paying farmers and landowners to change what they do.

People supporting catchment management plans – whole-heartedly or conditionally – outnumber those opposing them. The most common reasons for support include concerns about the safety of drinking water and the health of the environment. Preventative

management of water resources is also seen as more efficient and effective than post-event clean-up. Many respondents are concerned about the cost of these proposals, however, and that this will be passed onto customers through bills. Some people think that farmers and landowners should not be paid to change their behaviour, often on the basis of the “polluter pays” principle. Others argue that tackling water pollution should involve other organisations as well as Anglian Water, including the government and the Environment Agency. Many respondents say they would like more information on this issue before offering a view.

Many respondents say that the quality of their drinking water is fine. Some are concerned about water hardness, others would like improvements in its taste, and a few comment on water discolouration. When responding to the multiple-choice question about the quality of water, a number of respondents identified other ways in which Anglian Water could improve this. These concerned the taste and smell of chlorine, the presence in water of other

chemicals such as fluoride and nitrates, and variance in the appearance of water, in terms of cloudiness and colour. Many respondents would like to see water recycling in place and some suggested dual water supplies for potable and non-potable uses.

Resilient services

Anglian Water asked respondents how quickly the company should improve the resilience of its service. The majority of respondents think that Anglian Water should invest at the same rate as they do now, reducing the risk to supplies slowly to keep bill increases to a minimum. Fewer respondents support an increase in the rate of investment to improve Anglian Water’s resilience quickly, with an increase to customers’ bills in the short-term. Some respondents would like more information about the company’s current levels of investment, which would enable them to respond better to whether to maintain or increase the rate of investment.

Flooding and drought issues relating to resilience are raised in respondents’ comments on a number of questions. Many encourage Anglian Water to reduce these risks and support improved resilience in the water network to ensure continued supply in the face of weather- related water pressures. Many respondents want to avoid limits to supply or use during periods of drought, and are particularly frustrated by hosepipe bans. Some respondents want Anglian Water to ensure an effective but balanced course of action to tackle both issues, while others are concerned about the costs of taking action.

Supply meets demand

Many respondents are concerned about leaks, often saying that they waste treated water and cost money to fix. Many

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think that Anglian Water should focus on preventing and repairing leaks to conserve water, minimise damage and keep costs down. The time that it takes Anglian Water to repair leaks is another recurrent theme, with respondents noting that the longer it takes to fix leakages, the more water gets wasted.

Some respondents express wider and more long-term concerns about water supply, including the possibility of scarcity as the population grows and more development takes place. Education and awareness-raising – about water efficiency and conservation, in particular – are seen as very important in relation to these issues but many respondents are unaware of Anglian Water’s work in these areas. Some think that Anglian Water should supply water-saving devices such as meters and water butts, either free or at a discount.

Other suggestions for addressing growing pressure on supply include expanding existing reservoirs and constructing new ones, rain harvesting and the use of grey water where appropriate, and ensuring water efficiency measures are incorporated in new builds. Some respondents express concern about the impact on water pressure as population growth increases demand.

Finally, some respondents think that Anglian Water can improve its own water efficiency, both across the infrastructure and in its operations. Building partnerships with other water companies, local councils and property developers could result in innovative and

collaborative solutions, according to some respondents.

Flourishing environment

Investing in environmental management beyond legal obligations is important to most respondents. About half of those commenting on environmental management qualify their support by saying that investment should generate clear economic benefits for local people. Others support investment because the environment itself matters to them.

In particular, some respondents are concerned about the impacts of Anglian Water’s work on local ecosystems, including the deterioration of habitats and pollution of rivers. These

respondents argue that Anglian Water should concentrate on reducing negative environmental effects resulting from its own system and practices. Some respondents commend Anglian Water for its environmental programmes and awareness campaigns.

However, for some respondents, environmental management activities do not fall within Anglian Water’s purview. Others contend that water users – including the agricultural sector and other large-scale users – are more to blame for the negative environmental impacts and that more environmental awareness activities are needed.

A smaller footprint

A majority of respondents say that reducing carbon emissions and use of natural resources should

continue to be a goal of Anglian Water as long as bills do not increase. Only some support this even if bills might increase. Some raise concerns about the impact of climate change on weather

conditions and hence on overall water resources and a few suggest demand-side measures, such as smart meters, to address this concern. Others suggest that factors such as water companies’ mismanagement of water supplies are a greater threat to water resources.

Some respondents suggest that collaborating with other regional water suppliers, energy companies and local planning authorities would help Anglian Water’s efforts to ensure a water supply that meets future demands.

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Caring for communities

In general, respondents support Anglian Water’s work with communities, and many mention specific issues in the context of community work – including water usage and environmental protection – that they would like to see the company prioritise. Community

engagement and education activities – particularly educational programmes aimed at children and young people – are seen as an important aspect of Anglian Water’s efforts to raise awareness about water resources and water usage.

Recreational areas are also supported for their leisure, economic and educational value.

A large number of respondents say they did not know about Anglian Water’s community activities, and some think that Anglian Water should publicise its work in the community more effectively. A few respondents do not see community activities as the responsibility of a water company and think that Anglian Water should focus on supplying clean drinking water and wastewater services.

Other themes

Two of the outcomes in the consultation document were not addressed in specific questions.

These are ‘Investing for tomorrow’ and ‘Fair profits’. Some respondents comment on these outcomes in their answers to other questions.

Many respondents comment generally on Anglian Water’s infrastructure and assets. Some respondents are particularly concerned about pipe maintenance across the infrastructure. In addition, some take the view that asset maintenance – including regular checks on and cleaning of the system – and improvement across the ageing infrastructure should be the company’s main concern. A few respondents are concerned about the quality of sub-contracted work. Of these respondents, some

acknowledge that investing in upgrading and maintaining the infrastructure will require some cost to be passed to the customer. On the other hand, others support enhancing assets only in balance with low customer costs.

Some respondents comment on the structure of the water industry and on Anglian Water’s profits. A number of respondents say that the industry allows for monopolies and prevents consumers making a choice among suppliers.

A few respondents feel that the public do not understand Ofwat’s price regulation of the industry and think that Anglian Water should help to clarify this. The most recurrent comment on profit is a challenge to either the level of profit or its use. Sometimes the roles of shareholders, owners or management are challenged: many respondents think that lowering dividends to shareholders is an acceptable and preferable way forward.

Finally, a number of respondents comment on the consultation process itself and how issues are treated in the consultation document. Some praise the consultation while others express some concerns.

Conclusions

The ‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’ consultation suggests that Anglian Water’s customers are interested in taking part in a wide-ranging discussion and in having their views heard as part

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of the price review process and longer-term strategy. The consultation responses contain numerous remarks, reservations, suggestions, support for and opposition to Anglian Water’s ten outcomes. They touch on individual circumstances, regional issues such as population growth and national and global concerns such as drought, flooding and water scarcity.

Insights from the entire consultation will feed into the dry run business plan to be developed over the summer of 2013. At this point, Anglian Water will again ask for customer and stakeholder views on the proposed business plan.

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Chapter 1 – Introduction

In 2013, Anglian Water initiated its widest ever consultation with customers and stakeholders on its proposals to shape the future of its water services for years to come, ‘Discover,

Discuss, Decide’. This report gives an in-depth account of the 4,871 consultation responses received.

1.1 Background to the consultation

Every five years, water companies review the price they charge their customers for the water they supply. This price review process involves taking into account and balancing a wide range of different and sometimes competing priorities. To inform the development of its business plan for the next price review – known as PR14 – and its longer-term strategy, Anglian Water has developed a programme of engagement and communication called

‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’.

Through ‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’, Anglian Water aims to establish an ongoing conversation with its customers and stakeholders, providing them with information and gathering and understanding their views on a range of themes. The broad aim of the programme is to help Anglian Water determine the best possible balance of priorities for investment while delivering high quality customer service and keeping customers’ bills affordable. The views gathered over the course of this programme will inform the

development of Anglian Water’s long-term strategy and its business plan for 2015 – 2020.

Throughout ‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’, Anglian Water is working closely with its Customer Engagement Forum (CEF). This independent expert body represents the interests of customers, communities, the environment and economy. Part of the role of the CEF is to report to Ofwat on the overall quality of the engagement work carried out by Anglian Water as part of PR14 and to confirm that customer and stakeholder views have been considered in the development of its next business plan. This plan – to be published in December 2013 – will be submitted to Ofwat for approval and will set the level of customers’ bills and

investment priorities for 2015 – 2020.

1.2 The consultation process

Anglian Water worked with Dialogue by Design (DbyD), an independent consultation

company, to design and conduct the ‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’ consultation and analyse all responses received during the consultation. Conducting open public consultation ensures that all those who wish to contribute to the ongoing conversation are able to do so.

The project centred on a consultation document which described ten different outcomes that Anglian Water wants to achieve. This document was developed with input from the CEF and was made available in paper and electronic formats. The document provided respondents with the opportunity to ‘Discover’ information about Anglian Water, ‘Discuss’ and consider what they think, and then help ‘Decide’ the future of services by responding to the

consultation questions. Respondents could submit their views by using the online response form, the paper response form or via email or letter.

Respondents could respond to as many or few as they chose of the twelve questions included in the consultation document. The questions covered eight of the ten outcomes presented in the consultation document: Satisfied customers, Fair charges, Safe clean water, Resilient services, Supply meets demand, Flourishing environment, A smaller footprint, and Caring for communities. The two remaining outcomes, ‘Investing for

tomorrow’ and ‘Fair profits’, had no corresponding questions but respondents commented on

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these issues in their responses to other questions. We have reported on these comments separately (Chapter 11).

Of the twelve consultation questions, five were open-ended with a free-text space to

respond, using up to 2,500 characters. Seven questions were multiple-choice; each of these questions offered respondents between two and five response options. These options were presented in two different ways. They might take the form of statements describing different views on a single issue: respondents could then choose the statement which best reflected their own view on that issue. Alternatively, the options describe different issues which might concern respondents or on which Anglian Water might focus: for example, “hardness” or

“discolouration” in relation to water quality. Respondents would then choose the option they thought was of most importance. Respondents could also choose not to select one of the options presented and may do this for a wide range of reasons: we have not attempted to second-guess why people chose the ‘no option selected’ response rather than one of the positive statements. The final question was a general invitation for respondents to offer any further comments and questions.

The outputs from this consultation will inform the development of Anglian Water’s draft business plan. This will be published in summer 2013 and will explain how the company thinks the different choices can best be balanced.

The proposals in Anglian Water’s draft business plan will be put out to further consultation and the views gathered will help Anglian Water to refine their plans further, in light of customer and stakeholder feedback.

1.3 Reading this report

The purpose of a consultation process is to gather views and ideas rather than to determine the level of support or opposition for particular issues. The people who have contributed their views were not chosen to represent any wider population – such as all Anglian Water

customers or the population as a whole. Instead, they were ‘self-selecting’. That is, they chose to take part in this consultation. This means that the findings have no general or wider validity. Instead, they provide rich insight into the range and diversity of the comments made by the 4,871 people who responded.

The self-selecting profile of the respondents to the consultation makes it important for the reader to bear in mind that any numbers or percentages used in the report have no statistical significance. These are used only to indicate the balance of respondents’ views on the multiple-choice questions. To provide some guidance on the balance of views expressed in response to the open-ended questions, we have used words such as ‘most’ or ‘many’ when a large number of respondents make similar points.

Many points are made by a smaller number of respondents – anything between a handful and a couple of dozen. In these cases, we use the words ‘few’, ‘some’ or ‘several’

respondents. Overall, the report seeks to summarise the rich variety of respondents’

suggestions and therefore the use of quantitative wording is essentially an indication and should not be perceived to carry any statistical significance.

1.4 How this report is organised

This summary report on the consultation presents the results from the analysis of the 4,871 responses to the consultation.

The remainder of this report is organised as follows:

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 Chapter 2: detailed overview of the consultation process, method of analysis and participation

 Chapters 3 to 11: details of the consultation findings, following the structure of the consultation document. Each chapter provides a summary of the main comments and concerned raised by respondents. It then goes on to provide a flavour of the consultation responses received and delves into particular themes that are raised across the

consultation questions.

 Chapter 12: conclusions of the analysis.

Throughout this document, parts of respondents’ comments have been inserted to illustrate the narrative. For reasons of data protection, comments are attributed by respondent type:

household customer, business customer, organisation, or employee of Anglian Water. For the purpose of clarity, any spelling or grammatical errors in quoted responses have been corrected. For those respondents who have opted for their response to remain confidential, no part of their comments will be quoted in this report.

Finally, where it is clear that respondents identifying themselves as employees have raised issues not raised by other respondents, we have noted this.

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Chapter 2 – About the consultation

2.1 Methodology

The ‘Discover, Discuss, Decide’ consultation opened on 21 January 2013 closed on 24 March 2013. This was an extension to the planned close date of 10 March 2013 and enabled more respondents to participate.

Responses to the consultation were received in a number of formats:

 online response forms submitted via the DbyD bespoke consultation website

 paper response forms sent directly to DbyD or gathered via Anglian Water’s customer services team. The team made home visits to customers, took telephone responses, ran events in city and town centres, and in schools

 email responses sent directly to the consultation email address or to Anglian Water.

All responses were received by DbyD, assigned a unique reference number and entered into the DbyD analysis system.

Online response forms

Online responses received via the consultation website go directly into the DbyD analysis system. While the consultation was open, users were able to update or amend their

submission at any time. If respondents updated their submission the changes were imported into the analysis database with a clear reference indicating a modified submission. This ensures that any new information provided is taken into account during the analysis.

Paper response forms

Response forms received by post were logged and scanned, then manually entered into the analysis database by data entry staff. The data entry process followed the questionnaire structure so that these responses could be analysed in the same way as online responses.

The quality of data entry was monitored by the DbyD transcription team to ensure that responses were captured accurately. To make allowances for potential delays in the postal system, offline responses postmarked no later than 25 March 2013 were included in the analysis and in this report.

Customer services team assisted response forms

The Anglian Water metering team collected responses from customers at home recording their responses digitally on their laptops.

Customers on the Anglian Water WaterCare register were also contacted and customers registered as blind or partially sighted were sent Braille and large print communications explaining how they could respond. Some contacted Anglian Water for further assistance; in these cases, the customer services team collected their responses over the phone, recording their responses digitally or onto paper forms.

These customer services assisted responses were securely transferred to DbyD for processing in a manner similar to that described above for paper response forms.

Emails

Respondents were able to send responses directly to DbyD by email or directly to Anglian Water customer services for forwarding to DbyD. In the latter case, Anglian Water informed respondents that their response would be considered as part of the consultation and securely

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transferred the responses to DbyD, where they were entered into the analysis system as described above.

Analysing qualitative responses

To analyse the responses, and capture the variety of views expressed, we created an analytical, or ‘coding’, framework. The analytical framework is a tool by which we analyse responses according to the issues and arguments they raise. We read responses and apply themes, sub-themes and codes to them. This helps us with analysis and report-writing and allows us to retrieve responses on particular issues at a later date. Throughout analysis and reporting, the coded responses have been available to the Anglian Water project team.

For this project we adopted a three-tier approach to analysis, starting with high-level themes, splitting these into sub-themes and then into specific codes:

 Themes: high-level categories to organise related sub-themes and codes

 Sub-themes: mid-level groupings to organise codes

 Codes: a description of a specific issue or argument

As an example, a comment by a customer stating that they feel their Anglian Water bills are good value would be coded into (theme) Charges and Profit - (sub-theme) Cost - (code) value for money/affordability. The full analytical framework is provided in Appendix A.3.

The DbyD data analysis system allows analysts to develop a basic coding framework at the start of a project (top-down) while still providing scope for further development of the

framework to capture emerging issues using suggestions from the analysts engaging with the data (bottom-up). The initial framework was supplemented and approved by the Anglian Water project team. We use natural language codes¹(rather than numeric sets) since this allows analysts to suggest refinements and additional issues, and aids quality control and external verification. The system is also designed to allow responses to be coded in layers; if each code summed up a complete response, there would be no need to summarise them.

In addition to themes such as ‘Water Quality’ or ‘Supply Resilience’ that emerged, generic themes such as ‘Location’, ‘References’ and ‘Consultation and Information’ allowed analysts to capture specific locations mentioned in responses, references made to organisations such as Ofwat, and any views on the consultation as a whole, including the process, the

information presented and the consultation website. During the analysis it became clear that respondents often raised the same issues against more than one question. To avoid

repetition and to ensure that each issue is fully reported, the report has been structured in line with the questions asked. For example, where respondents have raised issues relevant to question 1 in their response to question 3, we have reported on these issues in the chapter on question 1.

Quality assurance

DbyD’s formal quality assurance is built into our overall consultation process and we quality check data entry of handwritten and typed responses, and the integrity and consistency of overall analysis, on an ongoing basis. The quality checking function is flexible and allows us to focus attention on the work of particular analysts and on specific questions or codes, enabling us detect and minimise inconsistencies. In addition to the in-built system-guided

1 Natural language here refers to ‘plain English’ – communication that is spoken, written or signed – as opposed to constructed languages, such as that used in computer programming.

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quality assurance, we use more informal methods to maintain high standards. These include core team members supporting new analysts and regular analysis meetings to explore any emerging issues and discuss possible changes to the framework. The core team analysed and reported on responses, ensuring consistency.

Analysing multiple-choice responses

Responses from the seven multiple-choice questions produced quantitative data that were analysed by DbyD’s colleagues from the Office for Public Management (OPM). We report on each of these questions with a brief summary of the responses and a graph displaying the total number and percentage of respondents selecting each of the response options as well as those who did not choose those options.

Among responses to multiple-choice questions, we include those in which none of the presented options was selected. They are reported as ‘no option selected’. In line with good consultation practice, we have made no assumption about the reasons why respondents might have chosen this option – for example, whether they feel unable to respond to the question, whether they reject the options presented or whether they simply ticked boxes at random. There may be other reasons for choosing ‘no option selected’.

In 461 instances, respondents submitting paper response forms either selected more than one option, wrote in and selected their own option, or wrote additional comments on the options for one or more of the multiple-choice questions (questions 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 or 10;

question 6 provided an ‘other’ option with an open-ended free-text space for respondents to add comments in response to the question). Often, these respondents selected one of the options provided and wrote in an alternative/additional option as well. In the great majority of cases, these additional options or comments did not raise issues that were not already included in other responses, and we have analysed and reported on them within the relevant themes and chapters. In those cases where an additional option or comment was particularly common or did raise something noteworthy we have noted this in the text (e.g., sections 7.2 and 11.4).

Table 1: Additional comments/options provided by multiple-choice question

Multiple-choice question Additional comments/option provided

2 – Sewer flooding in homes 62

4 – Metering 46

7 – Resilience to drought 77

8 – Leakage 185

9 – Environmental management 43

10 – Carbon emissions and natural resources 48 Total 461

2.2 Encouraging participation

Anglian Water aimed to raise awareness of the consultation to encourage a wide range and variety of responses. They promoted the consultation website via post, email and mobile messaging; held events in city and town centres and worked in schools across the region.

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They covered the entire Anglian Water region, including Hartlepool, to encourage all customers and stakeholders to have their say. Activities included:

 Customer engagement roadshows

 Print and broadcast media

 Radio advertising

 Web and social media.

Targeted groups included:

 Stakeholders

 Household customers

 Business customers

 Future customers.

For further details on these activities, please see Appendix A.1.

As further encouragement to respond to the consultation, Anglian Water offered respondents – excluding their employees – the opportunity to enter a free prize draw for three prizes of

£100 and four prizes of £50 ‘Love 2 Shop’ high street vouchers. A total of 2,064 respondents chose to enter the prize draw. The winners of the prize draw were selected by random and winners have been notified.

2.3 Participation

The total number of responses received within the consultation period is 4,871. The table below identifies the number received through the different response channels available. The majority of responses were received either by paper form or via the consultation website.

Table 2: Number of responses received by response channel

Response type Count

Paper form 2,719

Online 1,863 Customer services team assisted 276

Email 12

Paper form with attachment 1

Total 4,871

Not all respondents answered all consultation questions. The table below shows the number of responses to each of the consultation questions.

Table 3: Number of responses received by question

Question Responses

1 – Future customer service 3,417

2 – Sewer flooding in homes 4,871

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3 – Special lower tariffs 4,103

4 – Metering 4,871

5 – Catchment management 3,300

6 – Drinking water 4,871

7 – Resilience to drought 4,871

8 – Leakage 4,871

9 – Environmental management 4,871 10 – Carbon emissions and natural resources 4,871

11 – Work with communities 2,715

12 – Other comments or questions 2,410

2.4 About the respondents

Respondents were asked to answer a small number of questions about themselves,

specifying some background information. For those responding via the consultation website, some minimum information including name, email address, postcode and respondent type was required. Respondents could choose whether to provide information in addition to this.

People responding via other formats, including paper, could provide as much or as little information about themselves as they wished. A small number of respondents (66) did not provide their names and responded to the consultation anonymously.

Organisations

Forty-five respondents identified themselves as business customers and 56 identified themselves as other types of organisation. Of these 101 respondents, 40 identified their organisation or business. These are listed in Appendix A.4.

Postcodes

Postcode information allows us to identify whether respondents are customers of Anglian Water for their water supply, their wastewater services, or for both of these. A total of 3,671 respondents provided a valid postcode that falls within the Anglian Water service footprint: Of these customers within the Anglian Water service area:

 3,297 are water supply and wastewater customers

 246 are wastewater customers only

 128 are water supply customers only (including 72 Hartlepool Water customers).

Some respondents did not provide a postcode (706); others provided postcodes that are out of Anglian Water’s service areas or provided invalid postcodes (494).

Postcode information also allows us to identify response across geographical area. Among the 4,165 respondents who chose to provide a postcode, the greatest number (1,447) report Peterborough area postcodes. The other most common postcode areas among respondents include, in order of decreasing prevalence:

 Norwich (484) and Northampton (484)

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 Ipswich (408)

 Lincoln (302)

 Milton Keynes (251)

 Cambridge (178)

 Doncaster (130)

 Other postcode areas: 481

We have analysed all 4,871 responses submitted to the consultation. There were no significant differences in findings when taking postcode data into account in the analysis.

Background information

As noted above, some respondents provided additional information about themselves. This includes respondent type (e.g., domestic or business customers, organisational response etc): their age; the number of adults in the household and the number of children in the household; whether they have responsibility for paying the bill and whether their water supply is metered or unmetered. Those who did not answer a particular question about themselves are reported as ‘no option selected’.

We have analysed all 4,871 responses submitted to the consultation. In the text we note the only instance where a significant difference in findings was identified when taking

background information into account in the analysis (e.g., regarding views on metering in relation to reporting having a meter in the analysis of question 4 in section 4.2).

 Figure 1: Respondent type –

 the majority of respondents identify themselves as household customers

 self-identifying organisations and businesses responding are listed in Appendix A.4.

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 Figure 2: Age – about half of respondents identify themselves as 60-74, 45-59 or 30-44.

 Figure 3: Adults – the largest proportion of respondents report having two adults in the household.

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 Figure 4: Children – most respondents chose not to respond; of those who did, the largest proportion report having no children in the household.

 Figure 5: Bill responsibility – most respondents say they are responsible for the bill.

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 Figure 6: Metering – most respondents report having a water meter at their property.

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Chapter 3 – Satisfied customers

In this chapter, we look at responses to questions 1 and 2.

Question 1 is an open question asking respondents what they would expect of Anglian Water’s future customer service. Question 2 is a multiple-choice question concerning the level of risk acceptable in relation to people’s homes being flooded by sewage. Where respondents have raised issues concerning customer services or wider concerns around sewage or wastewater flooding in response to other questions, we have included these in this chapter.

The consultation document describes a good outcome in relation customer services in the following terms:

“We respond to customer needs with tailored, innovative services. Our processes are customer focused, and our people highly motivated and capable. Service failures are very rare and caused by factors beyond our control. If failures do occur we act promptly and effectively – keeping customers up to date and doing all we can to prevent and reduce the impacts on individuals and businesses.”

3.1 Future customer service

The first question invites respondents to consider the future of Anglian Water’s customer service, from 2015 to 2020.

Q1. Thinking about our future customer service in 2015 – 2020, what would you expect us to be doing that we’re not doing now?

Overview of responses

A total of 3,417 people responded to this question. Of those respondents who comment on the level of customer service currently provided by Anglian Water, the majority express satisfaction. They praise the company for providing excellent support and urge it to maintain its current high standards. Among those commenting on their priorities and expectations for future customer service, many say they have positive perceptions of the company. However, a few respondents caveat their support for customer services with suggestions including lower tariffs, quicker leak repairs, and more frequent meter readings.

“I am very happy with the way I have been treated as a customer and I would like this to continue.”

Household customer A large number of respondents would like to see improvements in Anglian Water customer service. They believe that customer services should aspire to be ”reliable”, “responsive”,

”honest”, “accessible” and “friendly”. A few respondents feel that customer services currently operate in a culture of compensation: that is, those who complain the most will get the best service overall. Some list specific targets or suggestions for improvement such as solving the job on the first visit, improving call back management and learning from the best practice in the field. Others stress that service levels should be sufficiently high so that customers do not need to contact customer services to have their problems solved.

Some respondents compare Anglian Water to other companies. In some instances these comparisons are positive, with respondents remarking that Anglian Water is doing a good job compared to other water companies. However others believe that it is falling behind other

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utility providers in terms of its services and level of innovation, such as use of towards smart technology. A number of respondents, including several Anglian Water employees, discuss the company’s reputation and the room for improving its customer satisfaction rates to become a leader in its field.

“I think AW do a good job in comparison with other water companies in responding to customers operationally but the central communications needs improving […]”

Household customer

“Minimising the need for customers to chase us, causing repeat contact and

complaints. For example to chasing meter reads, meter fits and exchanges, refunds, the setting up of unregistered properties. These processes are often seen by the customer as being too slow. This would need to be achieved by having a company- wide high priority on customer service, so that we are proactive in exceeding customer expectations and this in turn will build a stronger reputation.”

Employee of Anglian Water Customer communications

A large number of respondents see effective communication, both external and internal, as vital to good customer service. A number of Anglian Water employees stress the importance of managing customers’ expectations better by giving realistic deadlines and helping

customers understand the company’s business model. This statement is echoed by some respondents who describe negative experiences involving overly optimistic promises of visits and issue resolution and unclear information on the meter fitting process, which proved to take longer than expected.

“Understanding the customer’s priorities in alignment with ours. As an example: if a customer has a water leak outside their house that they want fixing straight away. In most cases, however, we put a LOS [level of service] on it which the customer cannot relate to or understand.”

Employee of Anglian Water

“The customer service rep is helpful in the main but sometimes gave over-optimistic callout promises of 2-4 hours or within 24 hours which on occasion were broken.”

Household customer Some Anglian Water employees are more critical of the company’s customer services and stipulate that customer communication failures are often a result of inefficient cross-

departmental communication and transfer of information. We report on this in more detail as part of the sub-section on operations later in this chapter.

In terms of external communication, many respondents highlight the need for news and offers better publicised via a number of channels such as a regular newsletter, text messages or local newspapers. A few also call for this information to be accessible in multiple languages and to people with visual disabilities; some praise the company for its current policy to provide Braille and large print documents.

Many respondents are also keen for Anglian Water to share more details about its wider work including environmental projects, new developments and mitigation being pursued, future plans, the measure of leakage repaired and water saved, water quality test results and water levels in aquifers. Alongside such information, it is also suggested that Anglian Water disseminate guidance on reducing water usage, advance notice of and reasons for increases

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in bills, and more information on metering such as the percentage of households in one’s area that are metered. A number of respondents suggest that this information could be provided in a regular e-newsletter that is circulated to customers, or that the information could be included with bills. Others express their preference for live updates via a designated Twitter account. Aside from giving a better understanding of Anglian Water’s work, some suggest these updates would help local businesses plan better around potential

infrastructure restrictions.

“Tell us the main risks, what is being done to mitigate them and who should be contacted in the event of a problem.”

Household customer A few respondents also believe that customer service could be more supportive of new customers by providing them with detailed introductory information in order to assist them during the transition process.

A number of respondents praise Anglian Water’s efforts to consult their customers, and some call for more attempts to listen to the views of the public, such as through regular

consultation by post or email. This point is echoed in requests for more face-to-face communication with customers and the preference for direct contact with Anglian Water employees rather than sub-contractors. Other suggestions for engagement include the company attending more local events, hosting “open evenings” to brief the public on future plans and provide them with the opportunity to raise questions, and offering a satisfaction survey at the end of all customer service calls. Anglian Water employees in particular emphasise the need to raise staff and operational visibility in the community in order to elevate the company’s profile among its customers. It is suggested that this may also make more customers aware of the company as their wastewater services provider.

“Visibility is important. As a customer I like to feel that I am getting value for money and if I see Anglian Water vans/people working as I am going about my day (in much the same way as the police service when people refer to seeing 'bobbies on the beat').”

Household customer By contrast other respondents state that customers do not want to be “bombarded” with information or interaction and that information should be restricted to essential contact related to maintaining service. They prefer the company to concentrate on delivering the service rather than public relations and promotional activities and argue that bringing water bills down should be a priority over an improved customer service.

To communicate better and provide a more personalised service, some respondents suggest Anglian Water strive for a more nuanced understanding of their customers, including tracking usage and giving customers an early warning if their water usage spikes. A few recommend that customer service staff accompany engineers during their home visits to get an in-depth and first-hand knowledge of the problems customers face. In line with the idea of making customers feel valued, some suggest the introduction of a loyalty reward scheme and others, mainly Anglian Water employees, recommend putting together a set of measures to be used for all household visits.

“I think it would be an interesting exercise for you to understand better the demographic of your customer base. Parents with children about to leave home, people living alone or houses of multiple occupations are all likely to have differing water requirements.”

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Household customer Conversely, a few respondents argue that providing a personalised service is likely to be inefficient and urge Anglian Water to adopt an approach of achieving the greatest good for the largest number of customers rather than trying to please each individually.

A number of respondents want better options around scheduling of appointments for Anglian Water engineer visits. There is a desire for appointment windows to be narrower, for

instance, and for customers to be notified in advance that engineers are on their way. Many respondents would like appointment times be made available on weekends and evenings.

Opinions among respondents vary about whether Anglian Water should aim to reduce the amount of post it sends. A number of respondents believe that switching to online bills and minimising the number of leaflets and documents sent to households is environmentally and financially savvy. Others, however, are concerned that this policy might exclude reluctant web users or those without internet access such as older people. To find the right balance, a few respondents recommend conducting a customer contact and payment preference audit so that payment books, for example, are not sent to customers who pay by direct debit.

A large number of respondents express a preference for wider and better use of technology across customer services. They want to see self-service options via an improved and more interactive website. For instance, some respondents would like to be able to do more online such as edit their account details more easily; submit meter readings that will generate an accurate, revised bill to be sent to them; chat to advisors; book appointments similar to a supermarket home delivery scheduling; and track the progress on a job or enquiry. Metering and leakage are two areas where many respondents believe technology can have the greatest impact on customer services. Some respondents envision the company being able to create apps to report leaks or submit meter readings. Many believe the company should be investing in digital, easy-to-read indoor meters.

“I think that exploiting the technology that is around at the moment, to allow for more of the contact to be completed online, to display issues in Google maps?”

Employee of Anglian Water Some respondents suggest that use of social media channels would further help to improve Anglian Water’s communication. Social media tools – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other networks – are seen as particularly useful when engaging with young people or giving round- the-clock incident-related updates and tips during flooding.

“More for the environment, less paper, not giving out big books of info, which most people won't read and throw away.”

Household customer Issue resolution

Several respondents express strong satisfaction with their overall experience of Anglian Water and praise the staff for the support they give.

“I am very satisfied with the customer service I have received from Anglian Water. In 2012 I had a leaking stop tap on my property. This was replaced with a new stop tap / meter box. The whole process was handled very efficiently. I have since had a meter fitted and after 6 months I will be given my usage information to help me make the decision to change to metered billing.”

Household customer

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However, of the respondents who refer to a specific case or experience with customer services, those who had a negative experience with Anglian Water outnumber those with a positive one. The criticisms range from delays in fixing leaks and unsatisfactory levels of compensation to failures to inform customers of maintenance works. For instance, one respondent comments that he is repeatedly overcharged on his sewage bill, while another is unhappy that, even though he has priority customer status because of a skin condition, his water supply was unexpectedly cut off. A number of respondents also complain of unhelpful staff, both in the field and in call centres, who cannot provide answers to enquiries or do not take action on customers’ requests.

“I have telephoned Anglian Water more than once regarding this problem and despite promises to fix it nothing has ever happened […]”

Household customer A number of respondents request quicker and more attentive replies to their enquiries or complaints, especially in emergency situations or regarding cross-customer issues. Other respondents, on the other hand, are content with Anglian Water’s emergency response protocol but challenge the company’s approach to routine tasks which they find inefficient and slow. Anecdotal evidence given by some respondents suggests that problems are at times neglected or only solved after numerous phone calls. For instance, on one occasion meters were incorrectly labelled, readings were attributed to the wrong homes and the issue was only resolved after dealing with a succession of different representatives. Other

respondents complain that their requests for meter placement, increased water pressure and hot water tap checks have not been addressed and no further information by way of

explanation for the delay or lack of service has been provided.

Anglian Water’s response to customers dealing with leaks is another area that has been challenged. Some respondents would like to see Anglian Water repair leaks on customer property for free or for a small fee. Others ask for compensation if reported leaks are not fixed within a certain deadline. Some express their frustration that leaks have been left unattended because they happen to be on the boundary of two (or more) water boards and the involved water companies and local authorities do not want to take responsibility for the leaks. Other respondents worry about unattended leaks on private property and advocate for the company to try to do more against these leaks.

To improve the resolution rate of complaints, a few respondents believe staff numbers should be increased. Another prominent and recurrent suggestion is that customers should be able to speak to the same person on successive calls. This point is echoed by comments from Anglian Water employees, who note the importance of time spent on understanding a customer’s problem. They stress how issue ownership can improve customer service complaint resolution rates. A few respondents suggest that a more proactive stance on service might be preferable; for instance, they suggest that restricting supply in advance of inclement weather would be better than reacting later to an emergency situation.

For other respondents, it is important to have knowledgeable staff who are able to direct the query/complaint to the right department in the first instance and follow up complaints by contacting customers directly. Some comments go further and ask for the introduction of a more decentralised, “one-stop shop” type of customer services organised by postcode area so that all customer needs in a local area, from payment to complaints, can be handled without the need for various departments to be contacted.

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“Bearing in mind that our employees are well-spread across the AW region, I wonder if we could have 'community champions' who could be a point of contact or at least a friendly face to talk to in their local area.”

Employee of Anglian Water Most Anglian Water employees who have responded to question 1 and discuss

communication updates place importance on keeping customers informed about the

progress of their enquiry and promptly informing them of any developments, especially if an arranged appointment is to be cancelled due to emergency work. This view is also evident in a number of other respondents who believe a proactive follow-up call after resolving a complaint is essential to ensure customer satisfaction.

Works updates

Many respondents ask for advance notice of planned maintenance work and regular updates on progress, especially if the water supply will be cut off as a result. Suggestions on how best to reach a wider number of affected customers include the use of local newspapers, public notices and leafleting. Some respondents suggest that the company work closer with local authorities to keep them updated on any planned works. For instance, a few councils want to work more closely as they feel the lack of alignment in plans negatively impacts the work of both organisations.

“More electronic communication such as email or texts to affected customers notifying them when water supply is disrupted and regular updates to keep you informed. As part of the Whittlesey community who lost supply last year, I feel this would have been useful at the time.”

Employee of Anglian Water If disruption in the supply is envisaged, some respondents suggest Anglian Water should provide extra care, though unspecified, to its vulnerable customers such as older people and people with disabilities before and during the disruption. Some also praise the introduction of the WaterCare register. Some are also concerned about the effects of a hosepipe ban on the aforementioned groups and insist on bottled water being provided to them regularly. A few respondents call for the water supply to be restored in a reasonable time, not the current 12- hour window and ask for bottled water to be provided free of charge to all affected

households.

Another suggestion for better communication around maintenance works is improved road closure signs which contain details such as a brief description of the project and its expected duration. A few respondents mention the importance of Anglian Water providing their

customers with regular updates even if the work has been outsourced to contractors, and suggest better control of and communication with the contractors themselves to ensure the work is delivered to standard. Some respondents note that if the outsourced work is of poor quality, this will affect Anglian Water’s reputation rather than that of the contractors.

“Upgrades and the way you interact with your customer base. For example, the programme to replace the lead supply pipes on pre-1962 houses. Little or no

explanation has been given to residents by any of the contractors with respect to the actual process […] Thus, lots of questions, especially from elderly residents, have been made.”

Household customer

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Other suggestions for improving the company’s reputation include more proofreading of leaflets before they are printed and sent to customers and doing more to maintain and improve assets such as sewage treatment works that can emit unpleasant odours and contribute to a negative image of the company.

Call centres

Of those respondents who make suggestions for customer services improvements, many want better phone support. Some respondents cite regular staff briefings and better cross- departmental communication to improve first contact resolution. Others ask for faster phone response times and a clear point of contact, especially in a case of emergency. Another widely supported idea is for a free-phone customer service number. In addition, some respondents suggest they would benefit from a free helpline where customers can seek and receive advice on minor problems not requiring an engineer visit.

A number of comments mention call centre staff failing to call back after having promised to do so. Respondents feel that this makes the problem-solving process long and cumbersome;

one suggestion for resolving this is to set a deadline within which to respond to customers’

questions.

“I think over all the customer service has always been brilliant except when you are due a phone call back.”

Household customer Several responses across the consultation mention the location of call centres, with most asking for them to be or to remain based in the UK. A number of respondents express their discontent with an automated phone system which often leaves callers with long waits and state their preference for human operators. Some suggest that after a set wait time has passed, the customer should be offered a call-back by an Anglian Water representative within a reasonable response window. Some respondents report unhelpful interactions with staff who, they suggest, do not always aim to efficiently resolve problems. This point is further supported by a few Anglian Water employees who call for strict discipline to be taken internally against impolite call centre staff.

“Answer problems and queries honestly and remove your layer of 'telephone assistants’ whose job it is to blatantly put off all but the most persistent people […]”

Household customer Billing and payments

User-friendly bills are one of the most common requests across the comments on customer services. A number of respondents believe they would benefit from more detailed and itemised monthly statements that include information on how various charges are calculated as well as explaining the difference between metered and unmetered costs. Other

respondents suggest a “Where does my money go?” pie chart to be included with bills to promote transparency as well as make people appreciate what is involved in delivering water and wastewater services.

To help them identify if they are heavy users and incentivise them to reduce their usage and therefore their bills, some respondents want to know how their consumption compares to other similar households or how it is spread across the year. Others prefer just to be notified if their water usage suddenly increases, as this can suggest leakage.

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“Supply information with bills on the household's water use: how it compares to a similar period last year, how it compares to other households in the area, how they can save water.”

Household customer Several respondents call for better publicity on the different tariffs or current promotions on offer and express discontent that sometimes existing customers are discriminated against and not given access to the best offers available compared to those newly joining the area.

Providing advice on the most suitable rates for their home and circumstances is considered particularly important to respondents who experience financial difficulties. Some suggest that in addition to making this information widely available via housing associations and letting agents, Anglian Water should also identify and contact customers in debt with information on rates to ensure they are on the most suitable one. Others are anxious for reassurance that Anglian Water is charging them the right amount and want to be promptly contacted if they are found to be consistently over- or under-paying.

A number of respondents also express dissatisfaction with the way estimated bills are calculated by Anglian Water, which they feel is inconsistent and often leads to incorrect bills and significant fluctuations in the amount charged to compensate for over- or under-

payment. Some attribute this to the use of an outdated price points plan along with the practice of basing estimates on the use of an average person rather than taking into account individual cases.

Regular meter reading as a way of avoiding estimated bills is called for by a number of respondents who complain that the current meter reading frequency as performed by Anglian Water is low. Some ask for evidence, such as a slip through the door, when their meter has been checked whereas others want to be reminded by email when a meter reading is due.

A few suggestions are also made regarding payment methods. Some call for greater flexibility, especially for those customers struggling to pay their bills, and ask for instalment payments over longer periods. Others ask for discounts for those paying by direct debit or for an extension of the current payment cycle. Even though the majority of respondents that mention payment periods prefer a monthly bill that will help them budget better, a few are of different opinion and would rather have an annual bill. A number of respondents challenge the difficult process currently in place for refunding accounts in credit; instead, they suggest the direct debit be automatically reduced for accounts in credit.

Finally, a few respondents make the following payment-related suggestions: send a single combined water/wastewater bill even for those customers who only receive one service from Anglian Water; make payment locations accessible for people with disabilities; and look into the idea of a “one-stop shop” to handle payments for all utility providers.

Operations

Responding in the context of customer services, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are the most often cited operational priorities for Anglian Water.

“Trying to make company run more efficiently thus reducing costs for us.”

Household customer A few respondents state their support for environmentally sustainable operations as well. As an illustration of the last point, one respondent was disappointed to find out that instead of recycling or re-using it, one of the Anglian Water offices had disposed of their old office furniture.

Discover, Discuss, Decide: Consultation