Public ownership of water

That this House condemns the mismanagement and underinvestment which led to untreated sewage being discharged into English waterways for more than 3.6 million hours in 2023; notes that water companies in England have incurred debts of more than £64 billion and paid out £78 billion in dividends since they were privatised debt-free in 1989; further notes that water companies paid out £1.4 billion in dividends in 2022, even as 11 of them were fined in the same year for missing performance targets; objects to Ofwat's proposal to allow water companies to increase bills by an average of 21% despite overwhelming evidence of mismanagement; recognises that climate change is making flooding and droughts more frequent and more severe, necessitating changes to the way water systems are managed in order to build resilience; believes that private for-profit ownership is not an appropriate model for water, as an essential utility where no meaningful competition is possible; calls on the Government to rule out any bailout of Thames Water, which would send a dangerous signal to other utility companies that reckless decisions carry no private risk; further calls for Thames Water to be placed in special administration and for its assets and functions to be transferred to a publicly-owned company; and also calls for all water companies in England to be brought into public ownership so that the water network can be managed for the benefit of all citizens.