Written question asked by Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 14 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 May 2026. It was answered by Emma Hardy (Labour) on Friday, 22 May 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Water Companies: Nationalisation
- Question
-
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether existing legislation prevents the Government from nationalising a water company.
- Answer
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The Water Act 1989 and the Water (Target Investment Limit) Order 1990 limit Government shareholdings in water companies to around 3% (exact figure differs by company).
Nationalisation would need new primary legislation to require changes to water company ownership structures and compensate existing owners.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 1329
- Session
- 2026-27
- Subjects
- Nationalisation Water companies
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-05-22 09:36:31 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/1329
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/1329
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/1329