In the last few weeks, the cost of energy has been much in the headlines. Now the debate is being widened to include water bills as well. Yesterday there were two welcome developments.

Firstly, the government announced that water firms should justify any price rises and introduce special tariffs for struggling households.

Water bills on average cost just over a pound a day, and since 2009, average increases have been in line with inflation, but this has still outstripped increases in household income. The government is pressing hard to make sure customers get a fair deal by encouraging water companies to look closely at any price increases, introduce social tariffs for vulnerable customers and crack down on bad debt.

Secondly, I had the opportunity to take the lead in a debate in the House of Commons on this very issue.

Every so often, backbenchers have the chance to suggest what topics should appear on the day’s order paper, and I’m delighted that the Parliamentary authorities agreed to my suggestion to include a discussion on water bills.

It was prompted largely by concerns I’ve been hearing from South Swindon residents about the price increases being proposed by Thames Water.

The company asked the industry regulator OFWAT for permission to put up prices by £29 per year on the average bill. OFWAT quite rightly asked Thames Water to think again, and I wanted to highlight this issue as an example of good practice by an industry regulator.

But that’s not the full story, because in addition to the £29 increase, Thames Water is also considering a further increase of around £80 per year to pay for the Thames Tideway tunnel.

This is the so-called Super Sewer which would modernise the way waste is transported and processed.

I accept that it is vital that we update the mostly Victorian infrastructure that we currently rely upon. What I am not happy about is that Thames Water is proposing asking consumers, rather than shareholders or investors, to foot the bill.

Remember this comes at a time when leakage is still a huge problem for Thames Water. It’s estimated that 646 million litres a day is lost; that’s about a quarter of their entire treated water supply. There have been big strides made, but more needs to be done. Real-terms investment actually appears to have gone down in the last five years, while bills have gone up.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to raise these issues in Parliament, and it is good news that the cost of water is now firmly on the government’s agenda.

It’s important that we not only reform the water industry, but help cut bills as well. - Robert Buckland The MP for South Swindon