Latest news with #Sir Jon Cunliffe
Sky News
21-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Ofwat to be swept away on tide of public anger over sewage spills
Why you can trust Sky News Sir Jon Cunliffe's review of the water sector is comprehensive, clear-eyed, and about as radical as allowed by terms of reference that explicitly ruled out renationalisation of England's private water and sewage companies. With that key demand of many campaigners off the table, the former Bank of England governor has focused on more effective regulation and securing a better deal for consumers and the investors without whom the industry will sink. So Ofwat, the embattled current regulator, is to be swept away on the tide of public anger at sewage outflows and shareholder dividends, and the disgruntlement of all its stakeholders. 20:08 Having succeeded in its primary aim of keeping consumer bills down, it is now a victim of the consequences: a shortage of investment in infrastructure and a failure to apply similar rigour to shareholder dividends and executive pay. While campaigners and customers say it has failed to hold companies to account, the companies complain they are too tightly controlled to attract investment. Ofwat privately points out it can only apply the powers and political direction it is given - but the new government, going with the flow of angry voters, will not hesitate to pull the chain. 1:38 The new regulator that follows will have control over environmental as well as economic standards, which has to be better than the current division between three different bodies, and may help define targets and priorities for the industry, like cutting sewage outflows in half by 2030. But to deliver those targets, water companies need to be both sustainable and financially attractive. Like it or not, that means paying a return to investors, a fact that Sir Jon, a veteran of the financial crisis, does not attempt to hide. So while there will be tougher powers to vet and even block potential company owners, he wants to create a low-risk, low-return environment for investors who currently see better returns elsewhere without any of the political and public heat that comes with water.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ofwat to be swept away on tide of public anger over sewage spills
Sir Jon Cunliffe's review of the water sector is comprehensive, clear-eyed, and about as radical as allowed by terms of reference that explicitly ruled out renationalisation of England's private water and sewage companies. With that key demand of many campaigners off the table, the former Bank of England governor has focused on more effective regulation and securing a better deal for consumers and the investors without whom the industry will sink. So Ofwat, the embattled current regulator, is to be swept away on the tide of public anger at sewage outflows and shareholder dividends, and the disgruntlement of all its stakeholders. Money blog: Funeral director on why she speaks to dead people Having succeeded in its primary aim of keeping consumer bills down, it is now a victim of the consequences: a shortage of investment in infrastructure and a failure to apply similar rigour to shareholder dividends and executive pay. While campaigners and customers say it has failed to hold companies to account, the companies complain they are too tightly controlled to attract investment. Ofwat privately points out it can only apply the powers and political direction it is given - but the new government, going with the flow of angry voters, will not hesitate to pull the chain. The new regulator that follows will have control over environmental as well as economic standards, which has to be better than the current division between three different bodies, and may help define targets and priorities for the industry, like cutting sewage outflows in half by 2030. But to deliver those targets, water companies need to be both sustainable and financially attractive. Like it or not, that means paying a return to investors, a fact that Sir Jon, a veteran of the financial crisis, does not attempt to hide. Read more from Sky News: So while there will be tougher powers to vet and even block potential company owners, he wants to create a low-risk, low-return environment for investors who currently see better returns elsewhere without any of the political and public heat that comes with water.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Water industry review: Will these proposals make any difference?
A review of the water industry has proposed the biggest reform of the sector in England and Wales since privatisation more than 30 years review's author, Sir Jon Cunliffe, has made 88 recommendations, which range from scrapping the current regulator Ofwat to stronger introducing stronger environmental reforms are deep and wide, and come at a time when there has been widespread criticism of the industry over leaking pipes and sewage these proposals are adopted in full it would be hard to see how things could not get better than where the sector is now - underinvested and widely derided. Excessive debt and inappropriate dividends that threaten some water companies' resilience – such as Thames Water – would be addressed by minimum capital levels and powers to block ownership changes if not in the company's long-term already know that water companies will invest more than £100bn in upgrading systems over the next five years - and that bills will rise sharply to pay for Jon says there are some "inescapable facts", including climate change, higher environmental standards, a growing population, and replacing ageing problems plaguing the industry come from not investing for a long period, meaning there needs to be a "massive" investment, in order to catch up, he amount companies can invest is a function of what they are allowed to charge and for the last 20 years, bills have risen by less than inflation - so have been getting cheaper in real is widely accepted that Ofwat prioritised keeping bills low over new investment. If consumers want a better water system, someone has to pay for what the Environment Secretary Steve Reed wants - and Cunliffe suggests - is a way of making sure bills do not have to spike so dramatically in future to catch up for years of underinvestment - as we are seeing is paying the price for that by being the report there are continual references to the telecoms regulator Ofcom - which is seen to have done a better job by maintaining a focus on continual investment in better infrastructure over while you can change the regulator, the reality is that higher future bills are the price for fixing the underinvestment of the a lot to digest in this - including compulsory metering and public health officials on water planning bodies. It will take time to take effect. But at least the government will be able to point to the Cunliffe review and insist it has set the wheels of change in motion.
