'End the buck passing', Bishop John Packer urges Government as 'Rain Tax' debate reaches the Lords

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds has called on the Government to ‘stop passing the buck’ over soaring water charges for churches and charities.  Speaking in the House of Lords (Wednesday 18 March), Bishop John Packer chided the government for a lack of action over new water charges which the Church of England says are being unfairly and wrongly applied to community halls and church buildings.

It is estimated that the new ‘rain tax’, already being levied by four water companies, could cost the CofE £15 million per year and, last month, the General Synod called on the government to scrap the charges on  churches, charities and clubs. The governing body of the Church asked ministers to insist that Ofwat follows guidance given in 2000 that charities, churches and clubs should not be charged on the same scale as factories and other commercial buildings.

During Question Time in the House of Lords, Bishop John Packer was told by Lord Davies of Oldham, on behalf of the Government, that a range of discussions and taken place with Ofwat. But Bishop Packer said that was not enough. “My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that response and I should be even more grateful if I saw anything much happening as a result of the conversations which have taken place.” He added, “It seems to be one of those situations where everyone is agreed on what should happen, but no one can do anything. Will the Minister undertake to end the buck-passing by revising and reissuing the guidance to Ofwat and the water companies to make it absolutely clear that community halls and church buildings should not be charged for surface water drainage on the same basis as businesses?”

In response, Lord Davies said he would revise and reissue the guidance, but argued that action was already being taken. “What has gone wrong is the way in which individual companies have implemented the guidance; in particular, nearly all complaints revolve around United Utilities whose charges have increased by several hundred per cent in a number of cases. The Government has made it clear that this is unacceptable; Ofwat has made that clear to the company involved; and the company has apologised for its actions and is taking remedial steps.”

The campaign continues

The campaigning website Don’t Drain Us.org, says that United Utilities are not backing down over the charges and reports that “Troubled water company, United Utilities has begun the charm offensive with initial phone calls being made and meetings arranged all designed to sell the ’rain tax’  to those most affected by the charges.”

The Archdeacon of Leeds, Ven Peter Burrows told General Synod that Yorkshire was likely to be next to receive the charges. He warned that Yorkshire Water was pressing ahead with charges and congregations in the region wouldl soon be affected. He told General Synod, the ‘parliament’ of the Church of England, ”In answer to why Yorkshire Water and others are pressing ahead with the charges it is argued that there is no reason why a church or a charity shouldn’t pay for surface water drainage in the same way as a business as both would make a similar demand on the service. They seem to have missed the point that churches and charities aren’t businesses and have no way of raising revenue to pay these increased charges. They will simply have to rely on the generosity of those who give voluntarily to the church.”

During the debate in February, delegates including senior bishops joined in a protest song at the plans of water companies to impose huge bills on churches and other community groups. The Archbishop of Canterbury was among those who joined in a chorus of "the rains came down and the tax went up". The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, told the Synod, "This is a national problem that is going to need a national solution… we are not going to give up..." He added: "Churches are not going to be treated as if they are businesses."

Philip Fletcher, the chairman of Ofwat, the water industry regulator, is also part of the Church of England's governing body, the General Synod, and faced fellow members to concede that he was the "villain" in the row over the extra bills being imposed and he admitted that his own church would not be able to afford to pay the new 'rain tax' that is crippling parishes,

He defended the new system of charging for the rainwater that lands on roofs and pours into public drains and sewers, claiming it is fair and environmentally friendly. It treats places of worship, community halls and charity buildings as if they were commercial premises, charging them according to the size of their land rather than their rateable value.

The Rain Tax debate - facts and figures

So far, only four of the 10 companies in England that deal with waste water have introduced the new charges, mostly in the north, but already the additional charges are being felt by churches, charities and community groups. The ‘rain tax’ could  cost the Church of England over £15 million a year, plus a further £10 million as churches employ professional services to appeal the initial bills. It  means, for example,  that a parish church in Knutsford, Cheshire, now has to pay £10,896 a year for its water, 20 times as much as a nearby Rolls Royce showroom, while other groups have seen their bills rise by 1,400 per cent in a year.

As many pointed out in February's General Synod debate, the costs of the new tax are the equivalent to the Church of England of 375 clergy (a loss of 10 clergy in every diocese). Larger churches will see their bills rise from £140 to £8,000 and Cathedrals will pay between £5,000 and £71,000 a year. Many small voluntary sports clubs are reporting similar increases to church bills, ranging from 100 to 1,400%, in the United Utilities region. The total annual cost to the not for profit sector of churches, charities and clubs is believed by many to be over £100 million a year.

The campaign against drainage charges has already seen one of the water companies - United Utilities - suspend its charging policy for 2009. To sign the ‘rain tax’ petition visit www.dontdrainus.org