MPs throw down the gauntlet on water reform success

(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 incidents and drinking water supply interruptions, to maintain water security.

  • Targets to increase the use of nature-based solutions to prevent surface runoff into the sewage system and reduce spills into rivers from storm outflows.

  • Mechanisms for the regulator to monitor cumulative impacts from lower category pollution incidents, with outcomes put before compliance with process.

  • Robust third-party verification of and public access to data supplied by companies. 

  • A statutory framework that enables regulations to be updated quickly in the face of dynamic issues such as PFAS, microplastics, climate change and tackling misinformation.

• A new combined regulator that has:

  • Checks and balances on supervisory regulation to prevent capture, and policies that prevent revolving door recruitment.

  • Duties to inspect and monitor company drinking and wastewater assets.

  • Arrangements to ensure decision-making is transparent and open to scrutiny.

  • Funding paid for by permit fees and levies on water companies that can ensure competitive salaries for the regulator’s staff. 

• Stronger enforcement:

  • More rigorous turnaround regimes for persistent or serious failures. 

  • Temporary special administration for the worst performing companies (the Committee said Thames Water should already have tripped this measure). This would also act as a deterrent against future failure.

  • Action by the regulator where firms fail to have contingency plans for supply outages.

• Customer protections:

  • Better standards for incident responses and better compensation arrangements where the Guaranteed Standards Scheme does not cover losses, such as in insurance cover costs or lost business revenue. 

  • A new Ombudsman to offer recourse, with CCW retaining its advocacy function.

  • A standardised national social tariff  as “a minimum level of support” combined with targeted support and other measures to end water poverty by 2030.