The petition of residents of the constituency of East Grinstead, Uckfield and the villages,
Declares that recent South East Water outages have had a particular impact on businesses in the constituency of East Grinstead, Uckfield and the villages; further declares that compensation offered to date is not adequate; and further declares that compensation can be paid to landlords in cases where landlords pay the water bill, but this does not reflect the end impact on businesses themselves of water outages.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take action to ensure that water companies are obliged to pay adequate compensation directly to affected businesses following outages such as the South East Water outage recently experienced in the constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mims Davies, Official Report, 28 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 871.]
[P003195]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy):
We recognise the serious disruption caused by recent South East Water outages, and the impact these outages have had on businesses in East Grinstead, Uckfield and the surrounding villages. The Government also note concerns that the compensation offered to date has not been adequate, and that current arrangements do not always reflect the end impact on businesses where landlords, rather than businesses themselves, pay the water bill.
All customers of water and sewerage companies are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service, known as the guaranteed standards scheme. GSS is designed to provide swift, automatic compensation where standards are not met, recognising disruption and inconvenience.
Where a company fails to meet any of the standards, it is required to make a specified payment to the affected household or business customer. The Government announced a major update to the GSS as part of its initial package of water sector reforms in July 2025. This represented a step change in the level of compensation available to businesses during prolonged outages, reflecting the impact that loss of water can have on business activity.
For household customers we have increased the minimum payment from an initial payment of £20 and an additional £10 for each subsequent 24 hours where the supply is not restored, to an initial payment of £50 and an additional £50 for each subsequent 12 hours.
For business customers we have increased the minimum payment from an initial payment of £50 and an additional £25 for each subsequent 24 hours where the supply is not restored, to an initial payment of £100 and an additional £100 for each subsequent 12 hours.
The total value of GSS payments made by companies in England was £6 million in 2024-25. Companies publish the total value of GSS payments in their annual performance reports. We therefore expect to receive data for 2025-26 in summer 2026.
To strengthen how complaints are handled in the sector, we will establish a new water ombudsman, which will be approved and overseen by the regulator. It will have powers to ensure that all customers, including businesses, can access legally binding resolutions if water companies fail to effectively and fairly resolve complaints.
The Government published their “A new vision for water” White Paper on 20 January 2026, setting out once-in-a-generation reforms to the water system that will secure a fair deal for customers and the environment, and rebuild public trust in the system.
The White Paper set out plans for a new, powerful single regulator and a chief engineer, as part of stronger, prevention-first regulation and a whole-sector approach. This will ensure that there is nowhere to hide if there is poor performance, including failures that lead to prolonged outages affecting households and local businesses. These reforms build on action already taken to ban unfair bonuses, secure record levels of investment and introduce tougher laws across the sector.
This will replace the current fragmented system with one regulator that is capable of integrated management of the water system. It will be able to deliver better services for customers, joined-up regulation and a cleaner environment for nature and the public. Its core mission will be to deliver fair and effective regulation that protects and improves public health, safeguards the environment and drives investment—ensuring trust, accountability and value for all. It is intended that the new regulator will be established as soon as possible following Royal Assent of the future water reform Bill.
We have taken decisive action through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, which delivered immediate measures to tackle poor performance, including banning unfair executive bonuses. More than £4 million of unfair bonuses were rightly blocked by Ofwat for 2024-25. In light of the recent unacceptable outages, South East Water’s chief executive rightly confirmed to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in April that he will not be receiving a bonus for 2025-26. Subsequently, he has confirmed that he will be stepping down after a successor is found. This follows the announcement on 1 May 2026 that Chris Train, the chair of South East Water, would be stepping down.
Through these reforms, we are addressing the causes of poor performance in the water sector, and strengthening protections for customers and businesses, following incidents such as those experienced in East Grinstead and Uckfield.