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Water Company Performance
21 February 2023
Lead MP
Rebecca Pow
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
EconomyAgriculture & Rural Affairs
Other Contributors: 28
At a Glance
Rebecca Pow raised concerns about water company performance in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The minister thanked Caroline Nokes for bringing the matter of water company performance to the House and acknowledged that it is a serious issue. She stated that current performance by water companies is unacceptable and must be urgently improved to meet customer expectations. The Government's commitment includes delivering clean and plentiful water, setting out four priorities for Ofwat in the strategic policy statement: protecting and enhancing the environment, delivering resilience, serving consumers, and using markets effectively. New duties under the Environment Act 2021 require monitoring of storm overflows and setting legally binding targets to restore water bodies by reducing pollution from sewers and abandoned mines. The minister also highlighted the Storm Overflow Reduction Plan as a significant investment programme requiring improved performance reporting. She addressed concerns about Southern Water's poor service, including supply interruptions in December 2022, and announced plans to meet with Southern Water’s CEO. Ofwat assesses water company performance against set commitments every year and ranks them accordingly; five companies were deemed extremely poor this cycle.
Caroline Nokes
Con
Romsey and Southampton North
Question
Water companies’ performance is not just about finances; it should include customer satisfaction, consistent supply, waste water treatment, network investment, and clean drinking water. She asked for better ways to hold water companies accountable for outages and stressed the need for significant fines and emergency supplies during failures. Caroline also inquired about the enforcement process, improvement plan deadlines, penalties for non-delivery, and whether DEFRA would step in if progress does not improve.
Minister reply
The minister thanked Caroline Nokes for raising important points on accountability measures and reiterated plans to meet with Southern Water’s CEO regarding recent outages. She mentioned that credit systems can be used to address billing issues during service interruptions. The minister discussed enforcement actions, including the Environment Agency's power to issue fines, but noted that these processes need improvements. DEFRA is consulting on raising fine caps and streamlining the process for quicker and easier issuance of penalties.
Jim McMahon
Lab Co-op
Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
Question
Congratulates the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North on securing an urgent question about sewage discharges in rivers, seas and local economies. Criticises water companies for continuing to pollute despite previous promises from the Government to take action.
Minister reply
States that since privatisation, billions of pounds have been invested by water companies into improving infrastructure. Water companies are now committed to £56 billion investment up to 2050 including £7.1 billion under way already with fines for non-compliance.
Question
Asks if it is right that water company dividends be linked directly to their performance in providing services and cleaning up rivers, referencing the River Mersey.
Minister reply
Agrees transparency in Ofwat's holding of companies accountable became more critical post-2019 where payments to bosses are now linked to environmental performance.
Rosie Duffield
Ind
Canterbury
Question
Asks the Minister whether she agrees with a petition calling for renationalisation of water companies due to profit-driven foreign investors prioritising profits over cleanliness and local economies.
Minister reply
States that since privatisation, £120 billion has been invested in infrastructure by water companies which is needed not only for clean water but supply security.
James Wild
Con
North West Norfolk
Question
Proposes enhanced monitoring and significant fines as a way to tackle the use of storm overflows.
Minister reply
Acknowledges that 90% of storm sewerage overflows are now being monitored which was 5% under Labour in 2016. Monitors will be installed upstream and downstream for full coverage.
Question
Asks when the Government will introduce higher fines up to £250 million as advised by the Environment Secretary and whether protections from Europe will be maintained.
Minister reply
States that they are consulting on plans to raise the cap on fines to £250 million to tackle enforcement more effectively.
Question
Asks for a meeting with the CEO of Anglian Water regarding storm overflows in Southend-on-Sea.
Minister reply
Offers to meet with Anna Firth and the CEO of Anglian Water to discuss her concerns.
Tim Farron
Lib Dem
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Question
Highlights £2.8 billion in water company profits, dividends and executive pay rises while detailing excessive sewage discharges in his constituency.
Minister reply
Claims that the Government have taken action with the storm overflows reduction plan introduced by this government which requires a detailed plan for every single storm sewerage overflow.
Paul Holmes
Con
Hamble Valley
Question
Raises concerns about chronic lack of investment by South West Water despite being able to do so and asks the minister to press the point on compensation.
Minister reply
Suggests a clear compensation scheme exists which will be looked at by his water company. Offers involvement in ensuring that it is properly understood.
Richard Burgon
Lab
Leeds East
Question
The same greedy water companies that are dumping sewage into our rivers and increasing people’s bills, ripping the public off, have handed out more than £50 billion to shareholders since privatisation. That is the reality. Is it not time that we had our water back in public ownership, rather than empty words from the Minister?
Minister reply
Clearly I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. The water companies have invested billions of pounds since privatisation—£120 billion—and they will invest a further £56 billion up to 2050. That investment has already begun and Ofwat is going through the water companies’ new plans to agree what is necessary in the next price review.
Bob Blackman
Con
Harrow East
Question
In Edgware ward in my constituency we have had a large number of new housing developments without a single improvement to the sewerage system. As a consequence, during heavy rain raw sewage comes out of the manhole covers on to the streets. Will my hon. Friend have a word with the planning Minister to ensure that before developments take place sewerage systems are improved to cope with the additional housing?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend raises an important point about housing supply and the suitability of our water supply system. I have been in close communication with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities about all those related issues.
Cat Smith
Lab
Lancaster and Wyre
Question
People in Lancashire know that we are lucky to live in an area with so many beautiful river walks by the River Wyre and the River Lune, but they can see their water bills going up as profits of companies such as United Utilities also go up. At the same time, we are seeing higher discharges into our beautiful rivers. Can the Minister explain why she thinks the current system appears to be working just fine?
Minister reply
If the hon. Lady had been listening, I did say that pollution—which is a range, not just sewage but phosphates, nitrates and pollution from old mines—is unacceptable.
Question
Can my hon. Friend assure me that more will be done to give out accurate information when water companies invest in making improvements and to ensure that campaigners have that information, rather than the Opposition’s fiction? Bathing water quality on beaches in North Devon is improving, following millions of pounds of investment.
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for that and I could not agree with her more.
Question
Over the course of 2020 and 2021, raw sewage was dumped in Britain’s rivers and seas more than 770,000 times. That is almost 6 million hours of pollution discharge. But, as we have heard, the pay of water company executives increased by a fifth, on average. Will the Minister force water companies to invest those profits into urgently upgrading the outdated sewage infrastructure?
Minister reply
I have said constantly that it is unacceptable that storm sewerage overflows have been used in contravention of permits.
Andrew Gwynne
Ind
Gorton and Denton
Question
The River Tame in my constituency is cherished by all the residents who live along it. The Tame valley is the jewel in the crown, but unfortunately the river is subject to regular pollution from several outlets, including chemicals as well as sewage. What more will the Minister do to work with United Utilities and—more importantly—to get the Environment Agency to tackle those companies that use the Tame as an open source to pollute?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman raises not only the issue of sewage but a whole range of issues.
Munira Wilson
Lib Dem
Twickenham
Question
Thames Water is considering plans to draw out water from the river at Teddington in my constituency in times of drought and replace it with treated sewage. That can cause all sorts of havoc with ecosystems if it is not monitored and regulated properly. She will appreciate that my constituents and I have little faith in regulators when Thames Water is currently losing a quarter of its supply every day through leaks.
Minister reply
The issue of leaks is important.
Question
As the Minister will know, Cornwall is often at the coalface of the fight against sewage. When we had a leak in St Agnes a few months ago, one issue we found was that the investigation did not take place immediately and there was some ambiguity as to whether it was sewage or run-off.
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for that important point.
Matt Western
Lab
Warwick and Leamington
Question
The public are really upset about this issue, particularly in my constituency where there was a 67% increase in discharges locally in the River Avon and River Leam. In Worcestershire, there was an increase of 80,000 tonnes of discharge into rivers which led to a £1.5 million fine for Severn Trent Water.
Minister reply
I am not going to disagree with the hon. Gentleman that the discharges are unacceptable.
Question
The fact is that every two and a half minutes people can smell sewage and see the sewage in their rivers and on their beaches, yet water companies are laughing all the way to the bank. The best we can get from the Minister is that we now monitor it. It is pathetic, isn’t it, after 13 years of Tory government?
Minister reply
I clearly understand the concern among the public. I count myself as one of them. I have said many times, as have other Ministers, that sewage in water is unacceptable. But let us not mislead; let us get our facts straight. As I said earlier, 72% of our bathing water is classed as excellent and 94% is classed as good. That is a tremendous record that has been achieved under this Government. It has improved year on year and will continue to improve.
Stephen Morgan
Lab
Portsmouth South
Question
Labour’s plan to clean up the water industry would include cutting sewage discharges by 90%, mandatory monitoring of outlets and automatic fines for discharges. Will the Minister enact it, for the benefit of Portsmouth people, with immediate effect?
Minister reply
There is already a comprehensive system of enforcement. As I said, we are now consulting on the £250 million potential cap and what might be the realistic cap, to really make a difference and put a stop to unacceptable pollution incidents.
Dan Jarvis
Lab
Barnsley North
Question
The current arrangements are clearly not working. Last month, I asked the Minister if she thought that water regulation was fit for purpose. She replied: “Yes… but many tweaks and improvements” are needed to ensure that it is working properly. Let me give her another opportunity to answer the question. Does she really think that the current system of regulation for the water industry is fit for purpose?
Minister reply
We have a regulator. Its job is to regulate the water companies. The Government sent a very strong policy statement to Ofwat to direct the water companies on a whole range of measures, not least putting the environment at the top of the agenda but also enabling the supply we need for the future population, so we can all have the clean and plentiful water we deserve.
Layla Moran
Lib Dem
Oxford West and Abingdon
Question
As the Minister knows, Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxford became the second river in the country to get designated bathing water status. Can she therefore understand our frustration when the official designation for 2022 was poor and over the Christmas period 676 hours—nearly an entire month—of sewage was discharged upstream in Witney? Can she seriously say, in light of that, that she and the Government are doing enough? Why will she not set even stricter targets, especially in areas with bathing water status? Can she give a cast-iron guarantee to our community that we will not lose bathing water status because of lacklustre action by the Government?
Minister reply
As the hon. Lady will know, I visited that site, and indeed I even paddled in the water. She knows full well that the system we have introduced will help to clean up bathing water areas such as hers, and the monitoring that we have introduced both upstream and downstream will deliver the change that we need.
Question
I am sure that the Minister does not want to mislead the House in any way when she talks about the quality of bathing water, but Yorkshire Water has told me that there is not one river in the United Kingdom that is fit to swim in, and that is a real mess. Have her Government considered—after 13 years—adopting a plan that Labour Members discuss frequently, namely, the introduction of a golden share in these companies with two directors, so that we can actually do something about the dreadful mess that we are in?
Minister reply
Talking of misleading the House, I am not sure where the hon. Gentleman gets his data. Let me reiterate what I said earlier: 72% of bathing waters are excellent and 94% are good, so a great many are extremely clean and wonderful to swim in.
Question
The scale of the mismanagement of our nation’s water resources under the stewardship of the private water companies is far greater than that of the appalling disregard for our precious beaches and waters. Sir James Bevan has warned that much of the country is now staring into “the jaws of death”—the point at which we will not have enough water to meet our needs. Last summer demonstrated just how ill-equipped the water companies are to deal with protracted periods of extreme heat. Does the Minister agree that the most effective way of tackling water insecurity is to create an integrated publicly owned water supplier serving the whole of England?
Minister reply
The answer is no.
Andrew Slaughter
Lab
Hammersmith and Chiswick
Question
In July 2021 several hundred properties in my constituency suffered a combination of surface and sewer flooding, some for the third or fourth time in 20 years, despite these being—according to Thames Water—one in 100-year or one in 300-year floods. Last week Thames Water wrote to the affected households saying that if their properties were at low risk, medium risk or even high risk and were subject to surface flooding, they would “not require a solution”. This constitutes appalling complacency and neglect on the part of Thames Water. What is the Minister going to do about it? In the words of my constituent Brendan Smith, Thames Water needs to be “held to account”.
Minister reply
The issue of the surface water flooding is serious. It is all related to the ground water table coming up and influencing the whole system. It is a complicated system, and the situation obviously needs to be addressed. Thames Water is investing a great deal in cleaning up its water; as the hon. Gentleman will know, it is the company that is putting in the super sewer.
Richard Foord
Lib Dem
Honiton and Sidmouth
Question
Earlier this month, along with some other Members, I received an email from Pennon Group, which owns South West Water, stating: “we wanted to provide you with the most recent information so that you are able to have an informed debate”. Does the Minister agree that what should inform our debate is the experience of our constituents, who are seeing their bills rise and sewage flood our waterways, and does she agree that water companies should be focusing on delivering a quality service to bill payers rather than quality lobbying of politicians?
Minister reply
South West Water is a one-star company. It is one of the worst-performing water companies. I have had its representatives in a number of times to look at its performance, and it has a clear plan of action for its trajectory to improve.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I thank the Minister for her responses to all the questions. Given the increased pressure on the water system as a result of the increase in the number of power showers and spa-type waterfall showers—as well as the increase in the number of homes, which I consider to be another critical factor in what is happening—it is clear that our current infrastructure is not up to scratch. How will the Minister ensure that we do not sacrifice the balance between quality, as developers who are under financial pressure owing to the cost of living are looking for cheaper options, and the bare minimum where permissible?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman has broadened the debate by talking about the water supply issue as a whole. The Government are looking closely at the issue of water efficiency, because we must ensure that we use water wisely.
Shadow Comment
Caroline Nokes
Shadow Comment
The shadow raised concerns about the inadequacy of current accountability measures for water companies, emphasising that performance should not be solely financial but also cover customer satisfaction, consistent supply, waste treatment, network investment, and clean drinking water. She highlighted frequent outages in southern Hampshire and questioned whether shame or poor ratings are enough to improve company performance. The shadow pointed out the lack of progress by Southern Water despite previous fines and suggested that significant penalties for non-delivery should be implemented alongside improvement plans. Additionally, she called for emergency back-up supplies during network failures and criticised the slow enforcement process.
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