Saving water can lower bills and help nature

SURREY households can save water, reduce their bills and protect the environment by following five simple tips from WaterSafe, the national register of approved plumbers:

■ Know where your stop tap is – watch this short video to give you a helping hand

■ Fix dripping taps – these can waste more than 5,000 litres of water per year

■ Look out for leaky loos – these are most common with dual-flush toilets and can waste up to 400 litres of water every day

■ Use economy mode on your household appliances to save water and energy too

■ Install water butts to collect rainwater from roofs every time it rains – not only will this save money long term, but plants prefer rainwater to tap water.

Saving water means saving money too as even small leaks can quickly add to your water bill if left unchecked and you are on a water meter.

Water use can soar in the summer months as many of us spend more time outside.

Using a hosepipe or sprinkler can use the same amount of water in just one hour as a family of four would in one day, so your bill can quickly add up.

Increased water use can have a detrimental effect on the plants and animals which use the rivers and reservoirs where most of the UK’s water comes from.

WaterSafe-approved contractors can help with a variety of water and plumbing-related tasks to keep you safe and help you save money. They are trained in the water regulations which includes avoiding wasting water.

■ For more information and advice, or to find a local WaterSafe contractor, visit watersafe.org.uk

Julie Spinks Director of WaterSafe solar and onshore wind, coupled with the doubling of existing home insulation expenditure.

This will be part-funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Not only is this plan good for the environment, good for growth and good for energy security but it is predicted to create 650,000 new skilled jobs by 2030.

Whereas over 80 percent of UK offshore wind is foreign-owned, a striking 44 percent is public foreign-owned, the largest company of which is Danish.

The largest on-shore wind farm in Wales is owned by Sweden. Five million people in the UK pay electricity bills to EDF, which is 100 percent owned by France.

In effect, this means UK electricity consumers are subsidising hospitals and schools in Denmark, Sweden and France. Labour proposes our own UK state owned energy company, Great British Energy, investing in clean energy.

Wind generated electricity is now far cheaper than gas so investing in renewables will cut bills for us all.

Sir Patrick Valance, the former Chief Scientific Adviser, has said: ‘A national mission for clean power by 2030 is achievable and should be prioritised.

“We desperately need to end the era of high energy bills, excessive carbon emissions and energy insecurity by accelerating the transition to clean, homegrown energy.

“Britain can lead on this by treating this mission like the vaccine challenge.

“We can be the innovators and the implementers, helping ourselves and exporting our solutions worldwide.

“But if we choose to go slowly, others will provide the answers, and ultimately we’ll end up buying these solutions rather than selling them.’

With the Tory Party in total disarray, bereft of ideas and split into factions, it is obvious we are in desperate need of the positives vision that only the Labour Party can offer.

Mike Baldwin By email the following:

■ No proxy or postal voting. ● No voting without a surrendered poll card;

■ A NOTA abstention option on voting papers;

■ Pre-election re-selection for sitting MPs;

■ Legally binding manifestos;

■ By-elections when MPs change parties;

■ Two-term only prime ministers;

■ Abolish the House of Lords with no replacement;

■ Voting age lowered to 16 years of age;

■ Voting rights for UK prison inmates.

The above is by no means the end of the matter; it’s merely the start!

Ian Brown By email