Water industry faces ‘root and branch reform' after landmark review
Environment Secretary Steve Reed is expected to promise 'root and branch reform' of the sector in a bid to clean up England's rivers and limit rises in water bills.
The commitment will follow the publication of the final report of the Independent Water Commission led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.
In a speech responding to Sir Jon's report, Mr Reed is set to describe the water industry as 'broken' and welcome the commission's recommendations to ensure 'the failures of the past can never happen again'.
He is also widely reported to be preparing to abolish the industry's beleaguered regulator Ofwat, which has faced criticism for overseeing a sharp rise in sewage pollution while failing to crack down on executive pay and large dividends at debt-ridden water companies.
In his interim report, Sir Jon criticised the way the sector was regulated, with duties split between Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
On Sunday, Mr Reed would not confirm that Ofwat was in line to be scrapped, but declined to express confidence in the regulator either, saying it was 'clearly failing'.
Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have agreed that water regulation needs to change.
Urging the Government to be 'transparent' about what would replace Ofwat and how it would work, Tory shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: 'No one disputes that the water sector is under pressure, and we all want to see meaningful improvements.
'Reforming regulation must be focused on improving performance and guaranteeing water security.'
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called for the creation of a Clean Water Authority that could 'hold these water companies to account' and 'fine them when they fail'.
While Mr Reed has pledged to avoid the need for 'huge shock hikes' in water bills, such as the 26% increase seen this year, reform is unlikely to lead to a fall in costs for consumers.
The Government hopes that investment in long-neglected infrastructure will make large bill increases unnecessary, but Mr Reed acknowledged on Sunday that there needed to be 'appropriate bill rises' to secure 'appropriate levels of investment'.
He is also unlikely to commit to expanding social tariffs that could help households struggling with bills at the cost of higher charges for wealthier families, saying he was yet to be convinced that this was needed.
Prior to Monday's announcement, Mr Reed had already committed to halving sewage pollution in England's rivers by 2030 thanks to a £104 billion investment from the sector in upgrading infrastructure.
He has also announced the creation of a new, legally binding water ombudsman, expanding the role of the voluntary Consumer Council for Water and bringing the sector into line with other utilities.
But the Conservatives have accused Labour of copying the policies of the previous government.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's industrial output rises 1.5% year-on-year in June
NEW DELHI, July 28 (Reuters) - India's industrial output (INIP=ECI), opens new tab grew 1.5% year-on-year in June, government data showed on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters projected a growth of 2%. Industrial output grew at a revised 1.9% year-on-year in May. * Manufacturing output up 3.9% in June as compared to a revised growth of 3.2% in May * Electricity generation fell 2.6% in June as against a revised drop of 4.7% a month earlier * Mining activity dropped 8.7% in June as against a fall of 0.1% a month ago * Output of consumer durables, including cards and phones, grew 2.9% in June as compared to a revised drop of 0.9% a month ago * Output of consumer non-durables, such as food items and toiletries, fell 0.4% in June as compared to a revised drop of 1% in May * Capital goods output increased 3.5% in June as compared to a revised increase of 13.3% in May * Industrial output in April-June grew 2% as compared to a revised increase of 5.4% a year ago


Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Kemi has fallen into the Islamophobia trap
Kemi Badenoch this weekend waded into the Islamophobia debate. In a public letter to Keir Starmer she urged the government to suspend the operations of its working group looking for a semi-official definition of Islamophobia. Unfortunately she then rather spoilt the effect by suggesting that the group needed to be supplemented by representatives of grooming gang victims, counter-terror experts and free speech activists. You can see why she did this. Nevertheless it could prove a bad miscalculation, and a missed opportunity to land a serious blow on Keir Starmer. The government is certainly vulnerable here. Its working group is pretty clearly a put-up job: ostensibly independent, it is expected to reach a predetermined conclusion which can then be rubber-stamped by ministers and ceremonially wheeled out to show how much it cares about Muslim voters. The appointment of super-wet ex-Tory Attorney-General Dominic Grieve as chair fools no one: Grieve himself wrote the foreword to the 2018 report from the APPG on British Muslims which first drew up the definition the government now wants enshrined. The whole affair is also a kick in the teeth for open government. Under its terms of reference, any advice the group provides is 'private for Ministers' and 'will not be made public.' And the members themselves are gagged for the duration: they must give 48 hours' notice to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government before any public comment they plan to make on any matter within the group's remit. Even if we forget the hole-in-corner tactics of the government, the proposal itself is a terrible one. Government has no business publicly defining particular opinions with the aim of directing state censure at those who adopt or publicise them; nor is there any acceptable reason why administrators or other authorities should be allowed to treat people differently because of their expressed (and lawfully held) political or religious views. In addition, despite the inevitable protestations that any definition of Islamophobia would be non-legally-binding, there is no doubt that it would in practice leech quickly into our law, for example by being taken into account in judicial review proceedings, prosecutions for public order or online speech offences, decisions by the police whether to arrest speakers for perceived religious offence, and so on. And, quite apart from this, even if it were right to protect faith sensibilities, there is absolutely no case for selecting any one religion, such as Islam, to the exclusion of others. (And yes, I will be consistent: anti-Semitism must be treated similarly. Acceptance by official bodies, such as the College of Policing, of the IHRA-sponsored definition of anti-Semitism, or any other one, must equally go the same way.) To be fair, Kemi does express some scepticism about whether we need a definition of Islamophobia at all. But what matters is, as they say, the optics. And for the average reader and viewer these are clear. Her message clearly comes across as an acceptance of the existence of the working group and a preparedness to work with it, albeit with input from new groups like free speech activists, grooming-gang survivors, and so on. This will unfortunately not go down well. No one who thinks seriously will be attracted by the idea that we should make policy on Islamophobia by putting delegates of umpteen warring factions and interest groups onto a government committee and hoping for the best. Moreover, the call for inclusion of grooming gang survivors has all the appearance (intended or otherwise) of identitarianism, bandwagon politics and a cynical pitch for votes. But there is an even more important point. When it comes to Islamophobia, the threat to Kemi comes not from Labour but from Reform. And, like them or not, Reform has a clear view. There has never been any doubt that Nigel Farage is against the whole idea of official definitions of things like Islamophobia, and for all the right reasons: free speech, administrative overreach, and so on. This view clearly has cut through. Just over a week ago, a pollster suggested that if Labour persisted with its ham-fisted Islamophobia operation, it could hand a 100-seat majority to Reform. Voters, especially those in the non-metropolitan constituencies that Kemi desperately needs to win over, remain deeply sceptical of the Tories precisely because they see them as Starmer-lite, as part of the old system, without clearly-stated principles. If Kemi comes out as anything other than wholly opposed to the Islamophobia definition, this jaundiced view will be confirmed in spades. Unless Kemi and the Tories really want this, they need to think again, and fast.


Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Britain's most stolen cars revealed with humble motor topping the list… where does your vehicle rank?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BRITAIN'S most stolen cars have been revealed with a humble motor topping the list from the Government's most recent car theft statistics. The data shows which motors are the most commonly stolen in the UK. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Range Rovers are stolen less frequently thanks to security upgrades Credit: Nick Dimbleby 2022 4 Toyota Hilux' are a target for thieves selling into foreign markets Credit: Getty Range Rover owners can breathe easy but Hilux owners should be concerned after the sturdy Toyota pick up topped the list. Thefts of the reliable Japanese four-by-four were up 549 per cent in 2024, equating to 584 missing motors in just a year. Overall vehicle thefts were down 4.5 per cent last year but thefts of cars less than three-years-old rose by 6.6 per cent. Land Rover models came out well in the statistics with Range Rover Evoque thefts down a whopping 77 per cent. This brought the brand out of the list of top ten most stolen cars in Britain. The firm has been focused on security improvements with recent models after receiving a slew of theft reports from customers. Amidst the crime wave insuring a Range Rover, especially in the city, was nearly impossible for motorists. In response Land Rover's parent company JLR invested a whopping £1 million to fund proactive policing. This was aimed at tackling the organised crime groups suspected to be targeting the flash motors in the UK. The firm went on to splash out an eye-watering £17 million on updating the security of its motors. Watch moment brazen gang steals car from family driveway in under 20 seconds as thief claims robbing to order is like 'working for Amazon' This included retrospectively upgrading the key systems on 300,000 cars to the latest technology. As a result of the effort there are now no Land Rover models in the top 22 most stolen models for 2024. But car thieves have seemingly pivoted to target another off-road SUV. The near indestructible Toyota Hilux appears to be highly sought after by criminals who nick the motors using electronic bypasses to drive them off without a key. 4 BMW remained number two on the list of new cars stolen Credit: Getty 4 Kia branded motors are being stolen more often, rising from fifth to third place Credit: Getty The Hilux has a ready market in foreign countries where its ruggedness is prized and buyers are less concerned about where the motors came from. Richard Billyeald, chief research and operations officer at the insurance industry's Thatcham Research, said: 'Top destinations for stolen UK vehicles include the Democratic Republic of Congo, UAE, Cyprus, Jamaica and Georgia, driven by global shortages of car parts, high vehicle desirability and geopolitical disruption.' With so many Hilux' being stolen police forces across the country have begun issuing warnings to owners. After 11 were nicked overnight Bedfordshire Police urged owners to take extra care. North Yorkshire Police and Nottinghamshire officers have issued similar warnings. Toyota is fighting back though, a spokesman told the Telegraph: 'Toyota GB has invested millions of pounds in a variety of solutions that help protect cars from theft. "These include protective plates, immobilisers, blockers and trackers." BMW retained its second place in the most stolen list of younger cars and Korean brand Kia rose from fifth to third place. Hyundai has claimed that in the market after February 2024 all received the latest hardware and software technology and should be safe from thieves. Thefts by region varied with Greater Manchester seeing a 20 per cent reduction but Bedfordshire, Essex and Warwickshire saw increases.