Water industry finances are under pressure again. Thames Water Last week, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee questioned Thames Water and Ofwat about the company’s financial situation. This included the nature of the recent £500m equity injection to Thames, its parent company’s ability to pay its debts, Ofwat’s new dividend lock-up powers and prospects […]
This week’s King’s Speech set out the government’s priorities for the next parliamentary year and is the final legislative programme before the next general election. It includes plans for new oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea, contrary to advice from climate scientists, the International Energy Agency and many others, and despite the […]
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee quizzed key decision-makers involved with Thames Water to a public hearing of the Committee on Wednesday 12 July to explain the difficulties facing the company and the water industry more generally. The Committee asked about the causes of the problems facing Thames Water and the potential solutions – […]
Under investment, insufficient government strategy, and inadequate co-ordination has resulted in a failure to “treat water with the care and importance it deserves”, warns Industry and Regulators Committee. The Industry and Regulators Committee has been investigating the regulation of the water industry, including looking at Ofwat’s performance in relation to its statutory duties, the investment […]
The Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology has published a briefing on Water Supply Resilience and Climate Change, to which Waterwise contributed. The impartial briefing for MPs highlights the scale of the water supply challenge and outlines the policy proposals to tackle the issue – water efficiency labelling, minimum efficiency standards and changing planning policy […]
UK Parliament Research Briefing ‘ Water quality and availability are linked to the wider environment, agricultural practices and energy security, and these interdependencies can be a source of vulnerability. Evidence suggests that a broader risk-based systems approach to water resource management could improve water resilience. This allows a better understanding of risks across society and the impact of trade-offs between stakeholders, the environment and the economy in different management scenarios. Environmental policy […]
The long pause in the Environment Bill has prompted more ideas for what might be included and several of these have been incorporated into the Bill – notably on sewage pollution from storm overflows and state of nature targets for wildlife. Defra Environment Bill continues through Parliament ‘New amendments will include legally-binding 2030 species target […]
Water UK has issued an updated briefing note outlining the industry’s position on the Environment Bill, which is currently in Report Stage in the Commons. It sets out how the body thinks the legislation can be improved. The industry body broadly supports the Bill, “including the introduction of biodiversity net gain, conservation covenants, moves to […]