Water industry shake-up: Ministers accused of ‘deep-rooted complacency’
The government has been accused of “deep-rooted complacency” over water industry regulation in a report by the House of Lords.
Peers, who reported on issues such as investment, water supply and wet wipes, have branded the government’s response to its findings one of “dismissive brevity and complacent tone”.
It comes after the committee published a critical report in March on “the failures of water regulation”, which concluded ministers had failed to treat the issue with care and importance.
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee wrote to the secretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) calling for more investment and urging them to create social tariffs for those struggling to pay their water bills.
In their letter to Thérèse Coffey, the committee acknowledged some policy changes since its report in March but said continued underinvestment risked water shortages in future.
Peers warned that water bills could increase, expressed dismay over failures to ban wet wipes containing plastic, and concluded that proposals to cut water demand will fail to hit targets.
The government has been urged to set out plans to boost investment, issue clear guidance to water regulator Ofwat and introduce compulsory water metering, among other measures.
Committee chairman Lord Hollick said: “Our cross-party committee has concluded unanimously that there is insufficient policy or drive to meet the government’s targets.
“Sadly, the only thing that is becoming clear in the murky, polluted waters of the sewage crisis is a lack of leadership and deep-rooted complacency.”
He added: “The government must give clear guidance on the trade-off between much-needed investment and the level of customer bills.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “We take our oversight of the water industry incredibly seriously and firmly disagree with these conclusions.
“We are delivering increased investment, stronger regulation, and tougher enforcement right across the sector. This includes being the first government to set ambitious targets for water companies to address storm overflows, which the High Court has ruled go even further than existing law.
“We agree that more needs to be done. That’s why we are introducing unlimited penalties for polluters, driving the largest infrastructure programme in water company history, and have set clear expectations for water companies to deliver the changes that we all want to see.”