(by Karma Loveday) Water UK has pushed back on Ofwat’s Water Governance Code, which would replace the existing Board Leadership, Transparency and Governance principles. In its consultation response, the trade body argued Ofwat’s proposal diverges without good reason from the pan-sector UK Corporate Governance Code, and would cost £23.2m over five years in recruitment costs for 58 additional board members – either adding to bills or diverting resources from other investment.

(by Karma Loveday) The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) reiterated its call for a national social tariff as it published data showing a 19% increase in customers in receipt of help in 2025-26, alongside its annual Water Mark research which found “widespread underperformance across the water sector”. The watchdog noted: "People can see and feel the impact of some of the largest ever rises in water bills – what customers are not seeing is an improvement in service or environmen

(by Karma Loveday) In 2025-26, Scottish Water put in its strongest overall service performance of the 2021-27 regulatory period so far, according to the Water Industry Commission for Scotland's (WICS) annual assessment. Highlights included: High levels of customer satisfaction across households, businesses and developers. 99.9% of drinking water samples were compliant. Serious pollution incidents fell to three. Capital expenditure was broadly in line with planned levels desp

(by Karma Loveday) South East Water has indicated a slightly improved water resource situation in the parts of Sussex in severe drought (Haywards Heath and Eastbourne). A statement said the immediate need to introduce any new usage restrictions has receded in light of recent rainfall, abstraction licence changes and the existing hosepipe ban. Energy & Utility Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions have launched a new sector entry programme which connects confirmed e

(by Karma Loveday) The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has laid down a series of challenges for the Government’s water reform package to rise to, ahead of the publication of a new Water Bill. The key areas earmarked for attention were: A new cohesive legal framework by 2030 to cover gaps in regulation. This should feature: New standards for inspection and monitoring of companies’ drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. National targets to cut pollution inc

(by Karma Loveday) The Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat have issued a joint letter to water industry leaders assuring they will work together for PR29 ahead of the formal establishment of the new integrated regulator. The letter said: “Through our joint working programme, we will work together during transition to join up the regulatory system for companies and stakeholders, while remaining separate organi

(by Karma Loveday) Government announced last week that eight new Regional Water Councils (RWCs) will be set up in England to give communities a greater say on priorities and investment – spanning sewage and water quality, flooding and coastal erosion, and drought and future water supples. The councils will align with river basin districts as a starting point: Northumbria, Humber, North West, Severn, Anglian, Thames, South East and South West. But limited variations will be

(by Karma Loveday) Environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle promised to go door-knocking to Category 1 polluters and to beef up the executive bonus ban in response to the latest water industry performance data. As part of work towards integrated regulation, the watchdogs in England and Wales combined forces to publish their first joint Water Industry Performance Insights report last week. This brought together previously published data, such as the Drinking Water Inspectorate’

(by Verity Mitchell) In conjunction with the Data Centre Covenant published by HM Treasury on 28 October, water minister Emma Hardy made a comment on sustainable data centre growth through responsible water use. She noted that information from data centres will improve how water mains, sewers and treatment plants are managed, enabling water companies to identify and address problems before failures occur. The growth in data centres, however, needs to be environmentally sustai

(by Verity Mitchell) The chancellor announced in the Budget that an additional £15.4bn of capital has been pledged by the Government to the National Wealth Fund (NWF), with a focus on strengthening Britain’s security, resilience and industrial growth. This includes a new commitment for the NWF and British Business Bank to deploy up to £5bn over the next four years into defence, critical minerals and AI, together with other sectors that support national security, sovereign cap