Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Water Companies: Leaks and Wastage

Thursday 15 October 2020 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Water company performance data on leakage is published annually on the DiscoverWater website.
  • The government's 2018 water conservation report sets an ambitious target of a 50% reduction in leakage by 2050.
  • Water companies committed to a 16% reduction in leakage by 2025 as part of the 2019 price review.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Grahame Morris Lab Easington
Environment
Context

The question follows the publication of an Environment Agency report showing poor water company ratings and significant leakage issues. Morris is concerned about transparency in assessing water companies' progress on leak reduction.

Question

If he will make it his policy to publish an annual league table to assess water companies' performance on tackling water leaks and wastage, given the recent reports of poor performance by many companies.

Answer from Rebecca Pow

Water company performance data, including on leakage, is already published annually on the DiscoverWater website, and companies provide data to the Environment Agency on water losses. I encourage hon. Members to visit the DiscoverWater website.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to publishing a league table was not directly addressed

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Q2 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Energy Environment
Context

A recent Environment Agency report found that four out of nine water companies are now rated as poor or requiring improvement, with daily losses through leakage at 3 billion litres. Hopkins raises concerns about the impact on the environment and customers' affordability.

Question

Does the Minister agree that losing 3 billion litres of water a day through leakage is wholly unacceptable? Are her Government reconsidering the privatisation of water companies that have damaged the environment and left customers with unaffordable bills?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

Our 2018 water conservation report sets out an ambitious target of a 50% reduction in leakage by 2050. The water companies have made progress towards this, but quite clearly, they need to do a great deal more. On water quality, in our 25-year environment plan, we aim to bring three quarters of our waters as close to their natural state as possible.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Reconsideration of privatisation was not directly addressed

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Q3 Grahame Morris Lab Easington
Environment
Context

Morris references a Public Accounts Committee report stating that post-privatisation leakage reduction was followed by a decade of complacency. He questions whether the government is effectively holding water companies accountable.

Question

Does the Minister agree that the Government are failing to hold the water companies to account over their inability to deal with this level of leakage, given the reported complacency?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

The hon. Gentleman raises a pertinent point, but the 2019 price review set out a £51 billion five-year investment package, and water companies committed to reducing leakage by 16% by 2025.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Acknowledgment of government's oversight was not directly addressed

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Q4 Stephanie Peacock Lab Barnsley South
Environment
Context

A National Audit Office study indicates that parts of England may face water shortages by 2040. Peacock questions whether the government's 50% leakage reduction target is adequate.

Question

Does the Minister agree that the targets set by the Department to cut water leakage in half by 2050 will be too little, too late to keep our taps running?

Answer from Rebecca Pow

I have already mentioned that target of a 50% leakage reduction, but that is just one of many measures. There is a whole raft of measures that we are working towards.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Concern about the adequacy of current targets was not directly addressed

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