Support for All

Support for All

Amount awarded: £632,270

Led by: Northumbrian Water

Partners: Accenture PLC, Consumer Council for Water, Microsoft PLC, Ordnance Survey Limited, UK Power Networks, Cadent Gas Limited, Northern Power Grid, Northern Gas Network, Thames Water Utilities Ltd

“Support for All” will involve designing, building and delivering a hub to securely host data on customers in vulnerable circumstances. Each utility company has Priority Services Registers of customers requiring additional support, and customers must currently register with each utility separately – inaccurate data means additional support isn’t always offered.

The Support for All project completed in December 2023.

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The following information has been replicated from Support for All’s final report:

Priority Services Registers (PSRs): Support for Vulnerable Customers

Priority Services Registers (PSRs) identify customers in vulnerable circumstances eligible for free support services. However, the Support for All initiative aimed to address the issue of vulnerable customers not being PSR-registered despite needing support.

Research revealed that 57% of customers in vulnerable circumstances were unaware of PSRs, and only 50% of those aware were registered (Accenture, 2020). In 2020 research, CCW found 43% of customers are aware of Priority Services. This left many critical support needs unaddressed, such as advance notice of supply interruptions or prioritised emergency responses, potentially leading to serious or life-threatening situations.

Key Challenges Identified

1. High Customer Effort:
   Customers needed to self-identify and register separately for multiple PSRs. This repetitive process often required disclosing sensitive information multiple times. Many customers were unaware of the need for multiple registrations, resulting in missed support opportunities.
2. Low PSR Uptake Across the Water Sector:
   By March 2021, only 1.1 million households were registered with water sector PSRs (Annual Performance Report), compared to 7 million energy consumers (Ofgem, Oct 2021). Additionally, many customers registered on energy PSRs were not registered with water PSRs and vice versa.

Objective

To align cross-sector PSR data and facilitate seamless data sharing, the project developed a technology platform consolidating individual PSRs into a single, cross-sector PSR. The pilot was implemented across two regions of England, with the goal of enabling national roll-out.

Project Implementation

A cross-sector collaboration was formed among water and energy companies, leveraging an agile methodology and a human-centered design approach. The software development followed a SCRUM-based process with two-week sprints, ensuring flexibility to handle data inconsistencies and evolving PSR requirements.

The platform was built on Microsoft Azure, utilising technologies including:

• Azure App Services, Azure Cosmos Database, Angular, Typescript, Azure Cognitive Search, and more.
• Data security and compliance were ensured through Azure Key Vault and robust data-sharing agreements.

Outcomes and Impacts

The pilot achieved all its objectives, demonstrating the value of cross-sector PSR data sharing. Key outcomes included:

1. Platform Creation and Data Sharing:
   • A single cross-sector PSR platform was developed, enabling secure and compliant data sharing across six organisations:
     • Northumbrian Water Group, Northern Gas Networks, Northern Powergrid, Cadent Gas, Thames Water, and UK Power Networks.
   • Data-sharing agreements included a Data Processing Agreement, Data Sharing Protocol, and Data Privacy Impact Assessment.
2. Enhanced PSR Data Coverage:
   • Over 1.1 million PSR customers were included, with at least 353,357 new PSR records discovered.
   • 160,251 updates were made to existing records, and 112,510 new needs codes were identified.
   • Significant increases in PSR coverage were achieved, with the highest individual increase at 267% (Northumbrian Water Group).
3. Cost and Customer Experience Benefits:
   • Cost savings from reduced customer communications ranged from £5,240 to over £20,000 per organisation.
   • Improved customer journeys resulted from shared check-in dates and reduced communication requirements.
4. Actionable Insights:
   • PSR penetration levels across postcode districts were identified, highlighting areas with high and low uptake.
   • Collaboration between utilities can target low-penetration areas to increase awareness and registration.

Future Potential

The pilot provided a blueprint for national scalability, with potential to expand beyond water and energy sectors to include local authorities, support agencies, and healthcare providers. By enhancing PSR registration and support services, the initiative ensures that vulnerable customers receive the critical assistance they need, with reduced effort and improved outcomes.

Alignment with Ofwat Innovation Themes

The project supported two Ofwat strategic innovation themes:

• Theme 4: Meeting evolving customer needs through improved services, affordability, and engagement.
• Theme 5: Unlocking public value by promoting activities that deliver societal benefits, such as improved public health and community wellbeing.

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The second phase of the project is being supported by further funding from the Water Breakthrough Challenge 4: Catalyst Stream; read more about Support for All 2 here.

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Resources:

For more information on Support for All, take a look at the following resources:

• Read the case study from July 2023
• This project was featured in the Supporting water-efficient communities Learning Report