To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the department has considered the potential merits of mutualisation as a solution to Thames Water and wider water industry challenges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the department has considered the potential merits of mutualisation as a solution to Thames Water and wider water industry challenges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 7th September 2026, to Question UIN 26076, on Water Abstraction: Teddington, what assessment she has made of Thames Water’s M2 (LTOA) abstraction licence in continuing to allow abstraction into the Thames-Lee tunnel at...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 7th September 2026, to Question UIN 26076, on Water Abstraction: Teddington, what assessment she has made of Thames Water’s M2 (LTOA) abstraction licence in continuing to allow abstraction into the Thames-Lee tunnel at...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the difference between grounds for special administration based on (a) insolvency and (b) performance failure in relation to Thames Water.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the difference between grounds for special administration based on (a) insolvency and (b) performance failure in relation to Thames Water.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of Thames Water's supply and its potential impact on health and well-being of children in the area.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of Thames Water's supply and its potential impact on health and well-being of children in the area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Thames Water regarding sewage discharge in the River Roding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Thames Water regarding sewage discharge in the River Roding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has made to Thames Water on its postponement of environmental improvements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has made to Thames Water on its postponement of environmental improvements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Ofwat over its regulation of Thames Water.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Ofwat over its regulation of Thames Water.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the wastewater treatment capacity of Alton Sewage Treatment Works to accommodate planned housing growth in Alton, Four Marks, Holybourne and surrounding villages; and whether Thames Water has set a...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the wastewater treatment capacity of Alton Sewage Treatment Works to accommodate planned housing growth in Alton, Four Marks, Holybourne and surrounding villages; and whether Thames Water has set a...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2026 to UIN 10802, what criteria her Department uses to make decisions on publishing such information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2026 to UIN 10802, what criteria her Department uses to make decisions on publishing such information.

Agreed to on question.

Agreed to on question.

I will discuss the future of Thames Water, starting with Thames Water’s record of pollution and environmental failure, and how it impacts everyone in my Witney constituency. Thames Water serves the constituency and embodies the systemic failure of the national water sector. Last year, Thames Water pumped sewage into rivers...

I will discuss the future of Thames Water, starting with Thames Water’s record of pollution and environmental failure, and how it impacts everyone in my Witney constituency. Thames Water serves the constituency and embodies the systemic failure of the national water sector. Last year, Thames Water pumped sewage into rivers...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making his speech, because this is hugely important. Residents in Harlow are also fed up with their bills going up because of what appears to be Thames Water’s incompetence. Does he agree that that should not be the case, and that if Thames Water...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making his speech, because this is hugely important. Residents in Harlow are also fed up with their bills going up because of what appears to be Thames Water’s incompetence. Does he agree that that should not be the case, and that if Thames Water...

I completely agree, and Thames Water’s full-year accounts are out at 7 am tomorrow morning. We will see just what they tell us. It is going to be ugly, not least because the company’s equity is worthless. The largest equity shareholders wrote down their shareholding to zero value and withdrew...

I completely agree, and Thames Water’s full-year accounts are out at 7 am tomorrow morning. We will see just what they tell us. It is going to be ugly, not least because the company’s equity is worthless. The largest equity shareholders wrote down their shareholding to zero value and withdrew...

We have a similar problem with South East Water, which is probably the second-worst water company in the United Kingdom after Thames Water. With South East Water, too, this Labour Government have been too timid. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government, by acting, or not acting, in the...

We have a similar problem with South East Water, which is probably the second-worst water company in the United Kingdom after Thames Water. With South East Water, too, this Labour Government have been too timid. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government, by acting, or not acting, in the...

Absolutely. The consumers are getting the raw deal, and there is no end in sight.

To qualify as an ultimate controller—it is a defined term—a party need only have material influence over Thames Water. The creditor consortium right now is negotiating bilaterally with the company, and has put in £3 billion,...

Absolutely. The consumers are getting the raw deal, and there is no end in sight.

To qualify as an ultimate controller—it is a defined term—a party need only have material influence over Thames Water. The creditor consortium right now is negotiating bilaterally with the company, and has put in £3 billion,...

Residents in Wokingham are absolutely sick of the failures of Thames Water’s management. In 2025 alone, Thames Water committed 74 sewage spills, for a duration of 684 hours. That means that Thames Water dumped sewage for the equivalent of 456 football matches, and there were certainly no clean sheets. No...

Residents in Wokingham are absolutely sick of the failures of Thames Water’s management. In 2025 alone, Thames Water committed 74 sewage spills, for a duration of 684 hours. That means that Thames Water dumped sewage for the equivalent of 456 football matches, and there were certainly no clean sheets. No...

I thank my hon. Friend.

Rather than having customers pay hundreds of millions of pounds of debt at ludicrous interest rates of nearly 10%, Thames Water should be taken into a special administration regime, which is commonly known as bankruptcy on insolvency grounds. I urge the Government to pursue a SAR...

I thank my hon. Friend.

Rather than having customers pay hundreds of millions of pounds of debt at ludicrous interest rates of nearly 10%, Thames Water should be taken into a special administration regime, which is commonly known as bankruptcy on insolvency grounds. I urge the Government to pursue a SAR...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we need Thames Water to go into special measures, so that it can invest in infrastructure? In my constituency, Thames Water has closed a road for three weeks in Horsell because it has not invested, and it dumped over 1,115 hours-worth of sewage last...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we need Thames Water to go into special measures, so that it can invest in infrastructure? In my constituency, Thames Water has closed a road for three weeks in Horsell because it has not invested, and it dumped over 1,115 hours-worth of sewage last...