Evidence given by Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment, and Dr Sebastian Catovsky, Deputy Director for Water Services, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Watch this evidence session Scope of the inquiry The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry will consider how well the water industry serves […]
BBC: Water companies have damaged trust, regulator Ofwat says. High levels of payments to bosses and investors by water companies have damaged customer trust, the regulator Ofwat has said. It has published new rules that will force firms to explain how executive pay is linked to performance and to prioritise customers’ interests. Companies paying dividends […]
Government peers have today (Wednesday 16th May 2018) demanded that the government protect the UK’s environmental standards after Brexit, in yet another damaging defeat for the government over the EU Withdrawal Bill. Lords voted 294 to 244 to pass the amendment this afternoon, which seeks to protect existing enforcement powers for environmental rules. It demands that the […]
Comment: A further step rippling from Labour’s threat to renationalise the water industry. MPs are sharpening their knives and even a cursory glimpse of the report on the collapse of Carillion will reveal a new appetite for highlighting boardroom greed. Carillion collapsed as a result of “recklessness, hubris and greed” among directors who put their […]
Bob Earll: Well to say that the Government’s consultation hasn’t gone down well with past environmental parliamentarians would be an understatement. A toothless mutt with no legal powers to hold Government to account has prompted Peers to another amendment to the Withdrawal Bill. The environmental principles section is a bit …. thin …. It seems […]
Martin Brocklehurst’s Blog (martin.brocklehurst@me.com) The Aldersgate Group has recently released a report Help or Hindrance – The Role of Environmental Regulations in the UK’s Industrial Strategy. It makes a strong case for the business value of regulation and debunks the myth that de-regulation is better for the economy. See the report at: http://www.aldersgategroup.org.uk/latest#beyond-red-tape-smart-regulations-are-key-to-delivering-uk-industrial-and-environmental-ambitions Successive Governments […]
The European Commission has published a Roadmap for the upcoming Fitness Check of the Water Framework Directive and its daughter directives as well as the Floods Directive. The fitness Check will look at the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of the Directives. This will include an assessment of the potential for regulatory simplification and […]
The government’s Brexit White Paper (full title, ‘The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union White Paper’) is short on detail and largely devoid of mentions of the environment, water or climate change. The government is also keeping its options open regarding the UK’s continued participation in the European internal energy […]