1-3 of 3 results for subject:Ofwat
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Ofwat on the adequacy of their capacity to investigate breaches of permits by water companies.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Ofwat on the adequacy of their capacity to investigate breaches of permits by water companies.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofwat and the Environment Agency to discuss a range of issues associated with regulation including investigations and enforcement.
The government is committed to ensuring the regulators have the tools they need to hold water companies to account. Therefore, in May 2023 Ofwat announced that its enforcement capacity would be trebled, following the approval of an £11.3 million funding budget increase from Government. The Government has also boosted funding for the Environment Agency with £2.2 million per year specifically for enforcement activity.
On 20 February, we announced that we are significantly increasing our oversight of the water industry. The number of Environment Agency inspections, including unannounced inspections, will rise to 4,000 by the end of March 2025 – a fourfold increase. Our consultation on increasing permit charges for water companies to enable these inspections is underway and due to close shortly.
The Government and regulators will continue to work together to hold water companies to account for poor performance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with industry representatives on the potential merits of strengthening Parliamentary oversight of Ofwat and its performance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with industry representatives on the potential merits of strengthening Parliamentary oversight of Ofwat and its performance.
The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with industry representatives on strengthening Parliamentary oversight of Ofwat and its performance.
Ofwat is directly accountable to Parliament for the performance of its functions and duties through the Water Industry Act 1991.
In the National Infrastructure Strategy published in November 2020, the Government committed to produce a cross-sectoral review of economic regulation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that Ofwat’s strategic decisions align with the Government’s 25 year environment plan.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that Ofwat’s strategic decisions align with the Government’s 25 year environment plan.
The Government has consulted on the draft strategic policy statement (SPS) for Ofwat, the independent economic regulator. Government expects to publish the final strategic policy statement in early 2022.
The draft SPS includes a strategic priority on ‘Protecting and enhancing the environment’:
- Ofwat should drive water companies to be more ambitious in their environmental planning and delivery to contribute towards the priorities set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan. Ofwat should drive water companies to improve their day to day environmental performance to enhance quality of the water environment.