20 Mar 2024
Water companies in England and Wales have almost doubled their profits since 2019. During this parliament, which started in 2019, pre-tax profits at water companies have climbed by 82%, according to a Liberal Democrat analysis of Companies House data. It found that in 2022-23, England’s water firms made £1.7bn in pre-tax profits. This is up […]
28 Feb 2024
A letter from the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency (EA), Philip Duffy, outlines the approach the agency will take with increasing inspections of water company assets. He highlights that depending on the outcome of the water quality charges consultation, and securing the funding needed, the EA plans to more than quadruple the number of […]
14 Feb 2024
The Environment Secretary has announced that water bosses are set to be banned from receiving bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal breaches. Ofwat will be taking forward a consultation to define the criteria for a ban. That could include successful prosecution for a Category 1 or 2 pollution incident – such as causing […]
30 Jan 2024
The Times reports that Defra ministers have told water company bosses they will no longer “mark their own homework” on whether they are illegally polluting rivers, in a shift in how the sector is regulated. Private water companies have to run checks to ensure they are meeting permits issued by the Environment Agency about how […]
22 Jan 2024
The Gurdian reports that the UK water industry’s ‘urgent’ plan to tackle sewage pollution has been delayed by four months, with no publication date in sight. Government ministers last year demanded water executives send them a “plan for urgent change” to tackle outflows which spill untreated human waste into rivers and seas. Last May the […]
22 Jan 2024
UKWIR (UK Water Industry Research) has published an update to the Drought Code of Practice to incorporate the experience arising from the 2022 drought. Consideration has been given to new channels of communication such as social media that was not available in 2013, and agreement has been reached on how to deal with new uses […]
03 Jan 2024
Consumer Voice reports four new legal claims against UK water companies accused of overcharging millions of customers. Lawsuits against Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water follow an earlier claim against Severn Water. Millions of household customers across the UK could be entitled to compensation following the latest round of lawsuits issued against […]
20 Dec 2023
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 […]
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