SCOTTISH Labour has demanded a £100 water bill rebate for every household in the country after it emerged that Scotland’s water provider has built up a £531 million “cash stash.” 

It was revealed last month that Scottish Water has a cash balance of £391m — five times higher than what was forecast by Scotland’s water regulator — and that the assets of its subsidiaries take the total to more than half a billion pounds.

Scottish Labour interim leader and finance spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said today: “It is time hard-pressed families in Scotland got money back from this obscene cash stash. 

“It is clear that water customers have been overcharged for years and they need the money in their household budgets at this time, not sitting unused in Scottish Water’s bank vaults. 

“Not only can a water rebate be easily afforded from the cash Scottish Water has stashed away, it means that any planned above-inflation water charge increases can be dropped for a number of years to come.”

Ms Baillie said that by delivering an immediate flat-rate £100 rebate on the next water bill, every household in Scotland, especially the poorest, will benefit.

“It will put cash into householders’ pockets to meet bills or boost spending that can help our high-street traders as we emerge from the pandemic,” she said.

“There is so much cash in the system that we can easily afford this and retain enough cash to cover the effects of the pandemic on Scottish Water’s income.”

Scottish Water chief executive Douglas Millican said the firm has restricted charge increases to a maximum of 2.5 per cent in a bid to “strike the right balance between helping our customers this year and [avoid] much higher increases in future years.”