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   

 

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was Tuesday 21 January 2025.

Upcoming events

View all events

No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Wednesday 12 March 2025
9:15am Private
9:30am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 12 March 2025
9:30am
  • Ruth Jefferson (Chief Executive Officer at Wessex Water)
  • Andy Pymer (Chief Financial Officer at Wessex Water)
10:30am
  • Mark Thurston (Chief Executive Officer at Anglian Water)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 11 March 2025
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 11 March 2025
10:00am
  • Heidi Mottram (Chief Executive Officer at Northumbrian Water)
  • Andrew Beaver (Senior Regulation Director at Northumbrian Water)
11:00am
  • Peter Perry (Chief Executive Officer at Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water))
  • Samantha James (Interim Chief Financial Officer at Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water))
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 26 February 2025
9:15am Private
9:30am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 26 February 2025
9:30am
  • Louise Beardmore (Chief Executive Officer at United Utilities)
  • Phil Aspin (Chief Finance Officer at United Utilities)
10:30am
  • Liv Garfield (CEO at Severn Trent Water)
Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 25 February 2025
9:30am Private
10:00am Public
Reforming the water sector - Oral evidence 25 February 2025
10:00am
  • Susan Davy (Chief Executive Officer at Pennon Group (South West Water))
11:00am
  • Nicola Shaw (Chief Executive Officer at Yorkshire Water)
  • Paul Inman (Chief Finance Officer at Yorkshire Water)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

We can’t usually help you with an individual problem or a specific complaint.

  • Email: efracom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: General enquiries: 0207 219 1119 | Press enquiries: 020 7219 3138
  • Address: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA