Independent Water Commission

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

That is a sensible suggestion by the noble Baroness. I am happy to discuss those considerations with the Water Minister and the Secretary of State to see if we cannot move things forward as quickly as we can.

[Baroness Altmann (Non-Afl)]

Having worked so closely with the Minister, I know how dedicated she is to getting this right. I congratulate her and the Government on their decision to act swiftly on Sir Jon Cunliffe’s excellent report. I relay congratulations from my friend, the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, who was a leading voice in this House on this issue.

What safeguards will be in place to avoid the kind of hideous bureaucracy that we have seen bog down the industry and the monitoring of these water pollution incidents? Will the new regulator—a long called-for and excellent move—have the right remit from the start to avoid the kind of financial engineering that the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, referred to? Will it have proper data so that the public can have confidence that they know what is going on, including tying pay for water companies to performance and perhaps having delayed compensation schemes so that, for example, we can get pension funds investing profitably in them for the long term rather than the short-term profitability that we have so often seen?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

Investment will be critical. That is a very important point. The answer to most of the noble Baroness’s questions will lie in the consultation and the response to the White Paper on how we move forward. In particular, it is important that we have the opportunity as early as possible to start talking about it and considering how to prioritise what needs to be in place in order to start delivering on our concerns and the outcomes as soon as we can.

It is worth pointing out that the existing regulators will stay in place until the new system is in place. The Government will clarify our expectations to the existing regulation system ahead of that, because we do not want the regulators just to continue as they have been. We will publish a strategic policy statement, which will have ministerial direction attached to it, at some point this year.