The Government is getting to grips with Britain's broken water system. Under Labour, we're clamping down on criminal sewage dumping and making sure that the private water companies clean up their mess after decades of underinvestment.
In 2025, the Independent Water Commission concluded that a new statutory water ombudsman is needed to replace Ofwat. It will represent the interests of consumers and make sure that money from water bills is properly reinvested into the system.
Already this Parliament, the Government has legislated with the Water Special Measures Bill. This new law will:
· Block the payment of bonuses to bosses whose companies pollute waterways – including Yorkshire Water.
· Enable criminal charges against persistent companies that break the law,
· Mandate that water companies must now prepare and publish Pollution Incident Reduction Plans and improve the management of waste water.
· Ban wet wipes containing plastic in England.
I share the frustration about hikes to water bills after decades of underinvestment. I know that there have been calls for nationalisation of the sector, but I believe the processes involved in this (paying out hundreds of millions of pounds to shareholders) would be tantamount to letting those private water companies off the hook. It's absolutely right that they are charged with cleaning up their own mess.
In more positive news, late last year, Yorkshire Water announced their largest ever funding cycle, with £8.3 billion of investment scheduled between 2025 and 2030. This money will maintain and improve the infrastructure which provides our drinking water, increase monitoring of water quality, nurture healthy environments for marine wildlife as well as contributing to the rollout of smart meters to reduce leakage and bring down customers’ bills.
If you've any specific questions about mine or the Government's efforts to clean up our rivers and waterways, please do get in touch.