Water sector reform

That this House recognises the Government’s intention to publish legislation on water sector reform following the publication of their Water White Paper and that this Bill is due to be announced in the upcoming King’s Speech; further recognises the urgent need for structural reform of England’s water industry to rebuild public trust, improve environmental outcomes, and ensure fair and resilient management of essential water services; asks that the Government include the establishment of a new mutual ownership model for water companies, owned by customers and professionally managed, as a means to strengthen accountability and public confidence in the Bill; calls for a new Clean Water Authority to replace Ofwat, with updated powers and duties to ensure more effective regulation, improved environmental oversight, and stronger enforcement mechanisms; further calls for a review of the triggers for placing water companies under the Special Administration Regime, alongside the introduction of new special measures to ensure earlier invention where companies of new special measures to ensure earlier intervention where companies fail to meet financial, governance, or environmental standards; urges the Government to require water companies to monitor and publish volume flow data to enhance the accuracy of pollution monitoring; believes that implementing a single social tariff for water bills would help eliminate water poverty; and therefore urges the Government to ensure that their forthcoming legislation on water reform and any subsequent legislation brought forward in the King’s Speech includes comprehensive measures to improve ownership, governance, environmental protection, affordability, and oversight across the water sector.