| Updated:
Water firms get £3.4bn EU loans
The EU plans to lend the UK’s 10 biggest water utilities €4bn (£3.4bn) over the next five years, as they try to reduce the number of customers who cannot pay their bills. UK water companies including United Utilities and Severn Trent can take out cheap loans from the European Investment Bank to help reduce “water poverty”. The value of unpaid bills last year was £804m, up 16 per cent.