Today the Environmental Audit Committee announces a follow-up
evidence session on water quality and
water infrastructure, taking place on Wednesday 15th
May 2024.
In its evidence session, the Committee will consider what
progress has been made since the Committee's influential 2022
report on ‘Water quality in
rivers'.
In its 2022 report, the Committee called a step change in
regulatory action, in water company investment and in
cross-catchment collaboration, so as to restore rivers to good
health and prevent further damage. MPs demanded far more
assertive regulation and enforcement from Ofwat and the
Environment Agency.
Several recommendations made in 2022 appear to have influenced
Government and regulator policy. However there remain questions
about the level of progress the Government has made on water
quality since.
The Committee will return to its recommendations, examining the
ongoing role of the environmental and economic regulators in
enforcing responsible behaviour by water companies and taking
action against unpermitted sewage discharges. Members will want
to examine whether current plans for investment in infrastructure
improvements are adequate, timely and deliverable, and how
permitted sewage discharges are being monitored.
Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Philip Dunne MP,
said:
“Since the 2022 report of the Committee's major inquiry into
water quality in rivers, and the regulatory changes which
Government and Parliament made in the Environment Act, much has
changed. Public concern about the health of the UK's waterways
has grown, such that this issue is now an important topic of
political debate and the focus of several high-profile campaigns.
“As concern has risen, so has Government and regulator activity.
Announcements made over the last few months include a
consultation on 27 new inland bathing sites, a Water Restoration
Fund funnelling water industry fines directly back into
improvements, and an action plan for the River Wye.
“We are also soon expecting Ofwat decisions on the industry's
capital expenditure plans for 2025 to 2030, as some private
sector water companies are understood to be facing significant
pressures.
“With the end of the Parliament fast approaching, the Committee
would like to take stock of the current position as the political
parties put together their policy proposals on water for the
electorate.
“I encourage any groups concerned about water quality and water
infrastructure to submit written evidence, and I look forward to
returning to a subject of such significance to me and the
Committee and, increasingly, to the general public.”
