Written question asked by Lord Berkeley (Labour) on Monday, 18 April 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 May 2016. It was answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Conservative) on Friday, 29 April 2016 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ofwat: PwC

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Chief Executive of the Water Regulator OFWAT was permitted to participate in a promotional video for the services of PwC, which is adviser to the Regulator both for PR14 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel, many of the UK water companies, and the owners of Thames Water, the sponsor for the Tideway Tunnel; and whether this is contrary to the Civil Service Management Code, clause 4.1.3.

Answer: OFWAT’s Chief Executive took part in a digital case study describing the challenges of its 2014 price review (PR14) and the role of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) as the PR14 delivery partner, contracted through open competition, to bring new skills and knowledge to OFWAT’s workforce to help secure a successful outcome. The case study was produced after the PR14 programme had ended and reflected the conclusion from OFWAT’s ‘lessons learned’ exercise that the delivery partner arrangement had been successful.

Secondary information