Ministers to pledge ‘root and branch reform' of water industry
Water bills rose by an average of 26% in April, with the cost of repairing long-neglected infrastructure said to be a significant factor.
It is understood that Mr Reed's promised reforms, along with greater investment in the crumbling sewerage network, are expected to make further significant increases unnecessary.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed is expected to promise 'root and branch reform' of the water sector to prevent 'huge shock hikes' in bills (Yui Mok/PA)
Monday's reforms have also been widely reported to include the abolition of water regulator Ofwat.
The beleaguered regulator has faced widespread criticism in recent years for failing to curb sewage discharges into rivers while allowing increasingly debt-ridden water companies to continue paying large dividends to their shareholders.
On Friday, Downing Street did not deny that it was preparing to abolish Ofwat, and a spokesman said the Government would wait for a report from Sir Jon Cunliffe, who has been conducting a major review of the industry.
In his interim report, Sir Jon criticised the division of water regulation between economic regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
The former Bank of England deputy governor is due to publish his final report on Monday, which is likely to recommend replacing Ofwat with a single regulator for the whole water industry.
On Friday, a report by the Environment Agency found serious pollution incidents caused by water firms across England rose by 60% in 2024.
The watchdog disclosed consistently poor performance from all nine water and sewerage firms in the country, despite its expectations for pollution incidents to decrease.
Every year it records the number of times pollution, including untreated sewage, is released into waterways from water company infrastructure such as pumping stations, pipes and treatment works.
The figures, released on Friday, show companies recorded a total of 2,801 incidents, a 29% increase on the 2,174 recorded in 2023.
But the number of so-called category one and category two incidents, the most serious, rose by 60% from 47 to 75.
Three water firms were responsible for 81% of these serious incidents – Thames Water with 33, Southern Water with 15, and Yorkshire Water with 13.
Meanwhile, just two companies, Northumbrian Water and Wessex Water, had no serious incidents last year, meeting the Environment Agency's expectations to see a trend to zero serious pollution incidents by 2025.
Mr Reed called the figures 'disgraceful' and a 'stark reminder' of how underinvestment and weak regulation have led to sewage polluting England's waterways.
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South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Ex-BBC journalist says covering Bloody Sunday sparked decades-long career
Peter Taylor, 82, from Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, subsequently dedicated a large portion of his working life to documenting events in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles he interviewed republican and loyalist inmates in a notorious prison which he said had not been accessed before, or in the same way since. He also tracked down and spoke to an MI5 officer who he said was 'central to getting the IRA to commit to peace' in a secret mission. As he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), Mr Taylor told the Princess Royal that his first assignment in Northern Ireland was covering Bloody Sunday for ITV's This Week. On January 30 1972, British soldiers shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry. Speaking to the PA news agency at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, after being honoured for services to journalism and public service broadcasting, he said: 'I remember being shocked at what happened and feeling guilty that I knew nothing, or very little, about the background to the conflict. 'I remember that day thinking I better start trying to find out, so I spent the past 50 years trying to do exactly that.' It took him nearly 10 years of work to get permission to make a documentary inside the high-security Maze Prison housing paramilitaries, which is no longer in operation. It was otherwise known as Long Kesh and was the site of 1981 hunger strikes. People serving sentences for murder 'and a whole series of dreadful atrocities' were inside, Mr Taylor said, adding that he gained their trust to be interviewed. Mr Taylor being made a CBE (Jonathan Brady/PA) The conversations were conducted without prison officers' oversight, he added. At Windsor Castle, the former BBC journalist told PA: 'In the end, when they saw the film they were glad that they had taken part because it gave a different view of the contribution that they were potentially prepared to make towards peace. 'You know you've succeeded when you get that kind of reaction, when they're clearly expecting to take you to the cleaners for what you've done, and they say 'wasn't bad for a Brit'.' He earned the trust of major figures including former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, whose funeral he attended, and Ian Paisley, previous leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose memorial he was invited to. The aim was 'to get behind the mask' and that 'required them trusting me, but me trusting them to be as straight as they were prepared to be'. 'They knew I had a job to do, so when I asked really difficult questions – which in most cases they tried to answer, they knew that was part of my job – they didn't take it personally, but they knew what I was trying to do.' Another major scoop was accessing the 'back channel between MI5 and the IRA' leadership. The security service ran a secret mission designed to 'encourage the IRA to stop killing people and engage in the political process', he said. Mr Taylor meeting the Princess Royal (Jonathan Brady/PA) The MI5 officer, unearthed by Mr Taylor and his team, was 'part and parcel' of that process. He 'flatly denied' working for MI5 when Mr Taylor first approached, but the journalist left his calling card and a book he had written titled The Provos: The IRA And Sinn Fein. Around 20 years after Mr Taylor first started working on the story, the officer wrote to him and said he had watched his documentary My Journey Through the Troubles. 'He said, if there are any gaps in your knowledge that you would like to sort out, I'm now prepared to talk to you.' Mr Taylor travelled to interview him on the condition of anonymity. Fewer programmes like Mr Taylor's are now made because of lack of funding, he said, adding that his did not attract 'huge viewing figures'. 'My worry is that public service broadcasting and the climate in which I grew up and learned my trade is under threat,' he told PA. 'It needs finances. What we do, people like me try and do, is to help people understand and make political choices and pass judgments on these extremely difficult, complex issues.' The public's appetite is changing too, he said, adding: 'People just grow weary of bombs, mayhem, murder, bad news.' Young people need to 'carry the torch onwards', which is 'a hard ask' because getting jobs and story commissions is increasingly difficult, he said.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Ex-BBC journalist says covering Bloody Sunday sparked decades-long career
Peter Taylor, 82, from Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, subsequently dedicated a large portion of his working life to documenting events in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles he interviewed republican and loyalist inmates in a notorious prison which he said had not been accessed before, or in the same way since. He also tracked down and spoke to an MI5 officer who he said was 'central to getting the IRA to commit to peace' in a secret mission. As he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), Mr Taylor told the Princess Royal that his first assignment in Northern Ireland was covering Bloody Sunday for ITV's This Week. On January 30 1972, British soldiers shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry. Speaking to the PA news agency at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, after being honoured for services to journalism and public service broadcasting, he said: 'I remember being shocked at what happened and feeling guilty that I knew nothing, or very little, about the background to the conflict. 'I remember that day thinking I better start trying to find out, so I spent the past 50 years trying to do exactly that.' It took him nearly 10 years of work to get permission to make a documentary inside the high-security Maze Prison housing paramilitaries, which is no longer in operation. It was otherwise known as Long Kesh and was the site of 1981 hunger strikes. People serving sentences for murder 'and a whole series of dreadful atrocities' were inside, Mr Taylor said, adding that he gained their trust to be interviewed. The conversations were conducted without prison officers' oversight, he added. At Windsor Castle, the former BBC journalist told PA: 'In the end, when they saw the film they were glad that they had taken part because it gave a different view of the contribution that they were potentially prepared to make towards peace. 'You know you've succeeded when you get that kind of reaction, when they're clearly expecting to take you to the cleaners for what you've done, and they say 'wasn't bad for a Brit'.' He earned the trust of major figures including former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, whose funeral he attended, and Ian Paisley, previous leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose memorial he was invited to. The aim was 'to get behind the mask' and that 'required them trusting me, but me trusting them to be as straight as they were prepared to be'. 'They knew I had a job to do, so when I asked really difficult questions – which in most cases they tried to answer, they knew that was part of my job – they didn't take it personally, but they knew what I was trying to do.' Another major scoop was accessing the 'back channel between MI5 and the IRA' leadership. The security service ran a secret mission designed to 'encourage the IRA to stop killing people and engage in the political process', he said. The MI5 officer, unearthed by Mr Taylor and his team, was 'part and parcel' of that process. He 'flatly denied' working for MI5 when Mr Taylor first approached, but the journalist left his calling card and a book he had written titled The Provos: The IRA And Sinn Fein. Around 20 years after Mr Taylor first started working on the story, the officer wrote to him and said he had watched his documentary My Journey Through the Troubles. 'He said, if there are any gaps in your knowledge that you would like to sort out, I'm now prepared to talk to you.' Mr Taylor travelled to interview him on the condition of anonymity. Fewer programmes like Mr Taylor's are now made because of lack of funding, he said, adding that his did not attract 'huge viewing figures'. 'My worry is that public service broadcasting and the climate in which I grew up and learned my trade is under threat,' he told PA. 'It needs finances. What we do, people like me try and do, is to help people understand and make political choices and pass judgments on these extremely difficult, complex issues.' The public's appetite is changing too, he said, adding: 'People just grow weary of bombs, mayhem, murder, bad news.' Young people need to 'carry the torch onwards', which is 'a hard ask' because getting jobs and story commissions is increasingly difficult, he said.
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Ex-BBC journalist says covering Bloody Sunday sparked decades-long career
Peter Taylor, 82, from Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, subsequently dedicated a large portion of his working life to documenting events in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles he interviewed republican and loyalist inmates in a notorious prison which he said had not been accessed before, or in the same way since. He also tracked down and spoke to an MI5 officer who he said was 'central to getting the IRA to commit to peace' in a secret mission. As he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), Mr Taylor told the Princess Royal that his first assignment in Northern Ireland was covering Bloody Sunday for ITV's This Week. On January 30 1972, British soldiers shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry. Speaking to the PA news agency at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, after being honoured for services to journalism and public service broadcasting, he said: 'I remember being shocked at what happened and feeling guilty that I knew nothing, or very little, about the background to the conflict. 'I remember that day thinking I better start trying to find out, so I spent the past 50 years trying to do exactly that.' It took him nearly 10 years of work to get permission to make a documentary inside the high-security Maze Prison housing paramilitaries, which is no longer in operation. It was otherwise known as Long Kesh and was the site of 1981 hunger strikes. People serving sentences for murder 'and a whole series of dreadful atrocities' were inside, Mr Taylor said, adding that he gained their trust to be interviewed. The conversations were conducted without prison officers' oversight, he added. At Windsor Castle, the former BBC journalist told PA: 'In the end, when they saw the film they were glad that they had taken part because it gave a different view of the contribution that they were potentially prepared to make towards peace. 'You know you've succeeded when you get that kind of reaction, when they're clearly expecting to take you to the cleaners for what you've done, and they say 'wasn't bad for a Brit'.' He earned the trust of major figures including former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, whose funeral he attended, and Ian Paisley, previous leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose memorial he was invited to. The aim was 'to get behind the mask' and that 'required them trusting me, but me trusting them to be as straight as they were prepared to be'. 'They knew I had a job to do, so when I asked really difficult questions – which in most cases they tried to answer, they knew that was part of my job – they didn't take it personally, but they knew what I was trying to do.' Another major scoop was accessing the 'back channel between MI5 and the IRA' leadership. The security service ran a secret mission designed to 'encourage the IRA to stop killing people and engage in the political process', he said. The MI5 officer, unearthed by Mr Taylor and his team, was 'part and parcel' of that process. He 'flatly denied' working for MI5 when Mr Taylor first approached, but the journalist left his calling card and a book he had written titled The Provos: The IRA And Sinn Fein. Around 20 years after Mr Taylor first started working on the story, the officer wrote to him and said he had watched his documentary My Journey Through the Troubles. 'He said, if there are any gaps in your knowledge that you would like to sort out, I'm now prepared to talk to you.' Mr Taylor travelled to interview him on the condition of anonymity. Fewer programmes like Mr Taylor's are now made because of lack of funding, he said, adding that his did not attract 'huge viewing figures'. 'My worry is that public service broadcasting and the climate in which I grew up and learned my trade is under threat,' he told PA. 'It needs finances. What we do, people like me try and do, is to help people understand and make political choices and pass judgments on these extremely difficult, complex issues.' The public's appetite is changing too, he said, adding: 'People just grow weary of bombs, mayhem, murder, bad news.' Young people need to 'carry the torch onwards', which is 'a hard ask' because getting jobs and story commissions is increasingly difficult, he said.
