Committees

Reforming the water sector

Inquiry

UK water bodies are affected by a number of high-profile threats including agricultural and sewage pollution. The water sector faces other important concerns such as weak resilience of water supply systems and future water security. Water companies providing services have been criticised for their environmental, financial and customer satisfaction performance.  

As a result of these issues, the Government has made water sector reform a top priority, with an Independent Commission expected to report in mid-2025. 

This long-term inquiry will allow the Committee to examine these issues and ensure that Government reforms and the work of key regulators lead to genuinely impactful change. The Committee will call for evidence on a regular basis, and produce iterative and focused reports throughout the inquiry. 

Topics for scrutiny will include, but are not limited to: 

  • Financial stability and corporate structures in the water sector; 
  • Agricultural pollution;
  • Sewage overflows; 
  • Other sources of water pollution such as chemicals, transport and road run off;
  • Water security for consumers and industries such as agriculture; 
  • Reducing water demand: both through consumers and wider supply chains; 
  • Supporting the water-based leisure industry; 
  • Impact of and emergency responses to flooding, drought and outages; 
  • Support for vulnerable consumers

If you have information or evidence which may be of interest to the Committee, please contact: efracom@parliament.uk   

 

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 20 October 2026
9:30am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 20 October 2026
9:30am
  • Dr David Lloyd Owen (Managing Director at Envisager)
  • John Abraham (Chief Operating Officer for Industrial Water and Energy at Veolia)
  • Hugh Goldsmith, College of Europe & former head, Water Division, European Investment Bank
10:30am
  • Dr Marine Colon, researcher at AgroParisTech and the UMR G-EAU research unit in France
  • Klaas Schwartz, Professor Water Services Governance at IHE Delft, Netherlands
11:00am
  • David Henderson (CEO at Water UK)
  • David Hall, Visiting Professor, University of Greenwich, Public Services International Research Unit
  • Professor Ewan McGaughey (Professor of Law at Kings College London)
  • Professor David Saal (Professor of Microeconomics at Loughborough University)
The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Tuesday 14 April 2026
9:30am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 14 April 2026
9:30am
  • David Hinton (Chief Executive at South East Water)
  • Chris Train OBE (Chair at South East Water)
  • Caroline Sheridan (Non-Executive Director at South East Water)
11:00am
  • Chris Walters (CEO at Ofwat)
  • Dr Mike Keil (CEO at Consumer Council for Water)
  • Dr Marcus Rink (Chief Inspector at Drinking Water Inspectorate)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 6 January 2026
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 6 January 2026
10:00am
  • David Hinton (Chief Executive Officer at South East Water)
  • Tanya Sephton (Customer Services Director at South East Water)
11:15am
  • Marcus Rink (Chief Inspector at Drinking Water Inspectorate)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 9 September 2025
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Oral evidence session 9 September 2025
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence
10:00am
  • Emma Hardy MP (Minister for Water and Flooding at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • David Hallam (Director for Floods and Water at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Climate adaptation and emergency response - Oral evidence
11:00am
  • Emma Hardy MP (Minister for water and flooding at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • David Hallam (Director for Floods and Water at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Preventing waste and enabling a circular economy - Oral evidence
11:30am
  • Emma Hardy MP (Minister for Water and Flooding at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
  • David Hallam (Director for Floods and Water at Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.

  • Email: efracom@parliament.uk
  • Address: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA