Latest news with #water sector
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Woman's Hour Water industry review, Actor Harriet Webb, Author Molly Jong-Fast
The state of the UK's water sector is barely out of the headlines at the moment and today a major review into the water industry in England and Wales said the regulator Ofwat should be scrapped. Sir Jon Cunliffe, who led the review, also warned that household bills will rise by 30% over the next five years. Nuala McGovern is joined by Esme Stallard, the BBC's climate and science reporter, and by two women campaigning for clean water on a local and a national level - Jo Robb, member of the Henley Mermaids wild swimming group and District Councillor for the Green Party in South Oxfordshire, and Erica Popplewell, Head of Communities at River Action, a UK-wide environmental campaign group. Harriet Webb is best known for her roles in Channel 4's Bafta-winning series Big Boys, and Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You. She is back on our screens this week playing Kirsty in series two of the Bafta-winning Sky Original Mr Bigstuff, starring alongside Danny Dyer and the show's creator Ryan Sampson. She joins Nuala to discuss why comedy can be the best place to discuss difficult issues like grief, trauma and, even, erectile dysfunction. In a new report, the community interest company Five Times More illustrate how black women in the UK continue to face disproportionately high risks during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. Despite a growing body of research and increasing policy attention, the gap in outcomes between black and white women shows little sign of closing. Tinuke, the co-founder of Five Times More, explains what changes they had found since their first report three years ago and what still needs to happen. Molly Jong-Fast is an author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair. She is also the only child of Erica Jong, author of the 1970s feminist autobiographical novel - Fear of Flying. A sensual exploration of female sexual desire, it catapulted Erica to international fame. Molly has written a memoir, How to Lose Your Mother, and she talks to Nuala about growing up in the spotlight, their intense mother-daughter relationship and her mother's heartbreaking descent into dementia. Economic abuse is at 'national emergency' levels yet more than half of UK women don't know anything about it - with a third only knowing 'a little' - this is according to a new report published today by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse. Sam Smethers, CEO of SEA, joins Nuala to explain the types of economic abuse they have uncovered, the implications of their findings and what they want the government to do. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Broken' water industry in England and Wales faces tighter controls under new watchdog
The 'broken' water sector in England and Wales faces an era of much tighter oversight after a landmark review, including the creation of a new sector watchdog to 'prevent the abuses of the past'. With water and sewerage companies reeling from what the report's author Sir Jon Cunliffe called their 'Great Stink' moment, the government announced it would be abolishing Ofwat and combining its powers with those of other water watchdogs under a new super-regulator. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, told parliament on Monday that ministers would be immediately adopting five of Cunliffe's 88 recommendations, including creating a real-time sewage map with automatic data that names and shames water companies. At the moment, the companies are responsible for reporting their own spills. Campaigners and environment groups will have more of a say in the cleaning-up of their local rivers, Reed announced, and regional water boards will be set up with powers to clean up rivers and seas locally as well as planning essential infrastructure. 'Volunteers and citizen scientists will be able to engage for the first time through regional structures. Citizens, local authorities, businesses will all have a voice,' he said. A 'super regulator' will be created to replace Ofwat, which has been blamed for letting water companies preside over decades of financial mismanagement and widespread sewage dumping. This new watchdog will also take in the powers of the Environment Agency (EA), the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Natural England, to avoid duplication of efforts and provide one clear regulatory system for the industry. Announcing this, Reed said: 'I agree with Sir Jon that water regulation has been too weak, too complex and ineffective. Having four separate regulators with overlapping and conflicting remits has failed customers and the environment.' However, Cunliffe told the Guardian it would be 2027 at the earliest before the new body was fully set up, comparing it to the media regulator. 'We looked at Ofcom, which took two years,' he said. Launching his 465-page report at the London Museum of Water and Steam on Monday, he said the current system had failed: 'If we are to achieve the water sector we need, we need to look at all the factors that have contributed to our Great Stink moment. Some companies have manifestly acted in their private interest but against the public interest. That must be prevented in future.' The Great Stink was the name given to the terrible hot summer of 1858 that created such an awful smell from the Thames that Sir Joseph Bazalgette was tasked with creating the capital's sewer system. Another recommendation Reed is adopting from Cunliffe's report is to create an ombudsman with legal powers to recoup funds for customers who face water outages, and Reed will set out 'strong ministerial directives' for Ofwat and the EA while they are merged, as Cunliffe recommended. The rest of the suggestions will be considered over the summer, with conclusions to be published in a white paper in the autumn. Cunliffe also proposed the creation of a new formal turnaround regime to allow struggling companies space to recover under 'regulatory forbearance' which could let them avoid fines. Thames Water, the UK's largest water company with 16 million customers in London and the south-east, is loaded with £20bn of debt and struggling to stave off financial collapse into special administration, a form of temporary nationalisation. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion However, it may not be able to benefit from the proposed turnaround regime, according to Reed, who said the government was prepared for the company to enter special administration if that became necessary. The company has been asking to be let off more than £1bn in fines, arguing it faces financial collapse if it has to pay for committing environmental offences. Some campaign groups welcomed the report. Mark Lloyd, the chief executive of the Rivers Trust, said the 88 recommendations 'would lead to a dramatic improvement in the water environment and far more cost-effective delivery'. Others were less enthusiastic, particularly as Cunliffe was barred by Reed from exploring the possibility of nationalisation. The water campaigner Feargal Sharkey accused the government of a year of inaction on sewage and called for the environment secretary to quit: 'The first year has been so chaotic,' he said. 'Quite frankly I think Steve Reed now needs to resign and hand the job over to somebody who can be more effective.' A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said the prime minister had full confidence in Reed, who was doing an 'excellent' job. The GMB union called for the renationalisation of water. Gary Carter, its national officer, said: 'Water privatisation has been a disastrous failure. It's a disgrace – and one Ofwat has overseen. Now is the time to fundamentally reform the water sector and renationalise this vital resource.' Reed said that he had not considered nationalisation as an option because his department had found the cost would be in excess of £100bn which is money which could be used for services such as the NHS. Economists have queried this figure and suggested it could cost as little as £14.5bn. Cunliffe said that regardless of nationalisation being out of his remit, the ownership structure was not necessarily the cause of the sewage pollution, arguing that the UK had been the 'dirty man of Europe' under a nationalised model. He also defended the high pay of water company executives after anger caused by the news last week about Southern Water's chief executive receiving a doubled pay package. 'We are not proposing the regulator should set pay scales for the industry,' Cunliffe said. 'They do need to recruit, and you have to attract the best people. What really makes the public angry is when the pay is there but the performance is not.'
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
What are the key recommendations for reforming UK's water sector?
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - An official report released on Monday outlined a plan to overhaul Britain's water sector, seeking to better protect the environment, investors, and consumers. The privatised water industry in England and Wales has sparked widespread anger by releasing record levels of sewage into rivers and lakes, prompting the Labour government to promise major reforms when it was elected last year. Below are the highlights of the report's 88 recommendations by the Independent Water Commission: The report recommends a single water regulator in England and one in Wales to replace the current fragmented regulatory system. This would streamline oversight, close regulatory gaps, and boost investor confidence as the sector faces major challenges from climate change and population growth, the report said. The Commission recommended tighter oversight of water company ownership and governance, including powers for the regulator to block changes in ownership if investors are not seen to be prioritising the long-term interests of the company and its customers. It recommended that the regulator set "minimum capital" requirements so that companies are less reliant on debt and more financially resilient. The Commission called for a reset of economic regulation with a new "supervisory" approach for tailored oversight and earlier interventions. It also recommended changes to the Price Review process to ensure proper investment and attract long-term, low-risk funding. The report proposed creating eight new regional water planning authorities in England and one national authority in Wales. They would be responsible for developing water investment plans, streamlining existing planning processes, directing funding and ensuring accountability from all sectors that impact water. The Commission called for a National Water Strategy covering at least 25 years and with regular milestones. The strategy should guide cross-sector water use and be supported by ministerial priorities to guide regulation. The report recommended a national social tariff to ensure consistent support for low-income customers who need help to pay their bills, addressing current regional disparities. The report urged stronger environmental regulation, including improved monitoring, stricter rules on abstraction, sludge, drinking water standards and water supply. It recommended compulsory water metering, revised tariffs for industrial users, expanded water reuse and rainwater harvesting schemes. It also set out where environmental legislation needs updating. The report called for reforms in how water infrastructure is managed, monitored and delivered, including new requirements for companies to map and assess their assets.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Five key takeaways from the landmark water sector review
The long-awaited review into England and Wales' troubled water sector has been much to pick through in the 465-page report - but here are the key points. 1. All sides to blame - but Ofwat gets the boot The independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, was set up in response to growing public concern about sewage spills and rising Jon makes it clear that pretty much all sides are to blame for the state of the sector."The underlying fact is we have not managed this well, and no one comes out of this with very much glory - not government, not the water companies and not the regulators," he told BBC it's the role of the regulators that comes under most might not sound exciting, but it's essentially the way of keeping water companies in check to make sure they deliver for billpayers and the responsibilities are divided between the economic regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and the Drinking Water most-eye catching of the 88 recommendations is the proposal to instead have a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales, rather than being split by economic and environmental would mean scrapping Ofwat, something the government has now confirmed it will do, and would mark a major shake-up in the way water companies are held to account. 2. Water companies need to stop marking their own homework The outcry over sewage spills is, at least in part, down to better monitoring. We now have a much better idea of how many times sewage is spilled into our rivers and seas, which were not routinely monitored even a decade the Water Commission recommends reforming what's called "operator self-monitoring" – where water companies monitor and report pollution and sewage incidents to the have argued this effectively amounts to water companies marking their own review doesn't recommend making monitoring entirely the responsibility of the regulator over water companies, citing high it does say that the regulators should develop a stronger approach to monitoring, including greater automation, third-party checks and "intelligence-led inspections".The review adds that reforming self-monitoring "should mark a clear departure from the past and presents an opportunity to re-build trust".There also needs to be better efforts to monitor other forms of pollution, including agriculture, microplastics and forever chemicals, it says. 3. More controls over company owners - but no nationalisation The regulator should also have more say in who owns water companies and introduce a "new regime to make senior executives directly accountable", the review sector also needs new measures to attract long-term investors and better oversight of company finances, it adds. But some campaigners are angry that the review was never allowed to consider what they see as the fundamental problem - that it is in private, not public setting up the Water Commission, the government had ruled out nationalisation, arguing that it would be too expensive and wouldn't necessarily lead to improvements. The campaign group Surfers Against Sewage accused the report of "putting lipstick on a pig".The review "utterly fails to prioritise public benefit over private profit", said chief executive Giles Wales the water industry is private, but Jon told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that our current privatised system could work if well said he remembers what the system was like before privatisation when we were the "dirty man of Europe".But what annoys the public is when "the pay is there, and the performance is not", which is when the regulator has to step in, he added. 4. Our bills may have to rise There was pressure from government and the regulator to keep bills low between 2009 and 2024, the Water Commission might have been good for our bills in the short-term, but the review says this "can now be seen as underinvestment".These consequences are now becoming clear, with additional pressures from climate change and a growing year the regulators approved increases of 26% to the average bill between 2024/25 and 2025/26."The problem comes when you suddenly suddenly go from not investing for a long long period, to massive investment in order to catch up," Sir Jon told BBC Breakfast."That is really what has driven those huge bill increases that we have have seen," he added."So over time I think we are going to see the cost of producing water rise - that's inevitable."But the review stresses the need to avoid the really sharp increase in bills that can put pressure on the most Jon suggests a consultation on the introduction of a "national social tariff" in England to help manage the burden for low income households, while in Wales the existing social tariffs should be also recommends the introduction of compulsory smart meters to drive down water demand. 5. There are no quick fixes In setting up the review, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said it marked "our opportunity to clean up our water once and for all".But anyone hoping that it will lead to an immediate improvement in the state of our rivers or a drop in bills will be disappointed."There is no single, simple change, no matter how radical, that will reset the water sector and restore the trust that has been lost," wrote Sir Jon in a foreword to his report."Change will take time; it takes years to build new infrastructure," he added on BBC Breakfast."Things... may take a long time to get better."And remember, these are only recommendations and aren't legally will ultimately be up to the government to decide what changes it wants to put in has confirmed it is scrapping Ofwat and has said it will immediately accept another four recommendations in parliament later. That leaves 83 recommendations left to go.
Sky News
2 days ago
- 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.
