Government rejects single social tariff call as it responds to Lords’ sewage regulation report

The government said last week it had “no plans to introduce a single social tariff” and would not update its Strategic Policy Statement for Ofwat, as it responded to the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee’s report, The affluent and the effluent: cleaning up failures in water and sewage regulation.

The committee had recommended both actions. Elsewhere, though, the government said its Environmental Improvement Plan and Plan for Water had addressed many of the committee’s recommendations, including: to produce a National Water Strategy; to deliver a National Policy Statement for water resources infrastructure (this was laid in Parliament in April); and to ban plastic wet wipes (the government will change the law to ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation).

Elsewhere, the government indicated some Committee recommendations were already being dealt with – for instance, the recommendation for a greater outcomes focus and the elevation of nature-based solutions in the Water Industry National Environment Programme. Nor did it offer anything new regarding demand reduction.

Finally, the government response sidelined recommendations that were not related to the focus of the inquiry: Ofwat.

The committee now plans to follow up on its inquiry in light of responses from government and Ofwat, and other developments since the publication of its report, such as Water UK’s apology.

The first sessions take place on Tuesday, with the National Infrastructure Commission and Water UK to give evidence from 10.30am.