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New water ombudsman will tackle leaks and incorrect bills
New water ombudsman will tackle leaks and incorrect bills

BBC News

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • BBC News

New water ombudsman will tackle leaks and incorrect bills

A new ombudsman will tackle leaky pipes, incorrect bills and other issues people have with water companies, the government has new consumer champion is being launched as part of wider plans to overhaul the industry, due to be announced later, following public outcry over rising bills and an increase in sewage discharges into UK way the sector is regulated is expected to change significantly, especially after the Water Commission gives its review of the industry on Secretary Steve Reed has already vowed to halve the number of times water firms discharge sewage by 2030 - the first time the government has set a clear target for pollution spills. He used an interview on the BBC on Sunday to pave the way for far-reaching reforms, describing the sector as "broken" and its regulator as "clearly failing".Reed said voters could hold him accountable if there had not been improvements in water quality come the next he stopped short of saying whether Ofwat might be axed altogether - something that could be recommended by the Water Commission in its Monday Undertones frontman, Feargal Sharkey, a leading campaigner for cleaner waterways, said he feared the report would not be radical enough to solve the problems facing the sector and would turn out to be a disappointing "flat pancake".The latest announcement means the water industry will have a consumer watchdog that will serve as a single point of contact for consumers with complaints, bringing it in line with other plan will also see an expanded role for the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), the public body that currently takes on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was unable to put a timescale on the plans for a new ombudsman, but said it would have legal powers to protect customers who are in dispute with their water company. The state of the UK's waterways and the role of the private companies managing the nation's water supply has been the subject of fierce public debate, with widespread calls for the government to take a greater role and bring in tougher sector requires vast infrastructure updates in the face of a growing population and the impact of more extreme weather as the result of climate firms have faced criticism for under-investing in the systems they manage, all while paying out millions to executives and the number of times water companies discharged sewage into England's waterways rose to a record of 2,801 instances, Environment Agency data published on Friday said he had spoken to people "up and down the country" who were "furious about the state of our water".A survey by the CCW in May found trust in water companies had declined, with just 35% of respondents saying they felt satisfied with what their provider was doing to protect the environment. A record £104bn is due to be invested in the water sector over the next five years to improve its a result, consumer bills are expected to rise on average by £123 annually - though for Southern Water customers this could be as much as £ Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, welcomed the plan to create a new ombudsman in principle, but said it would only play a small part in solving the water industry's long-term problems."We all want the water system to improve, and honesty about the scale of the challenge is essential," she added that the government needed to explain where investment would come from and how reforming or replacing Ofwat would succeed in cleaning up rivers and Democrats environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: "To effectively tackle the sewage scandal, we need fundamental change, not another layer of bureaucracy."But he added that a new ombudsman may provide a means of redress for consumers "who for too long have been forced to foot the bill for failing water companies".

Ministers to pledge ‘root and branch reform' of water industry
Ministers to pledge ‘root and branch reform' of water industry

The Independent

time4 days ago

  • Business
  • The Independent

Ministers to pledge ‘root and branch reform' of water industry

Labour is to promise families will no longer face the prospect of 'huge shock hikes' in their water bills after a complete overhaul of the sector, it has been reported. Environment Secretary Steve Reed is expected to pledge a 'root and branch' reform of the water industry on Monday, saying that 'regulation has failed customers and the environment'. He will promise that 'hardworking British families will never again face huge shock hikes to their bills like we saw last year', according to a report in The Times. 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. 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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