Oral Answers to Questions

Clive Jones Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emma Hardy]

It was a pleasure to see my hon. Friend and see how tirelessly she was championing and supporting her local constituents after such a devastating flood. Concerns around flood insurance have been raised, so the floods resilience taskforce is setting up an insurance sub-group, through which some of its members will deep-dive into the challenges and opportunities for improvement on flood defences. If she has any further evidence that she would like me to look at, it would be very helpful to receive it.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

11. What discussions he has had with Thames Water on its financial viability.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

I am of course having conversations. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that the company remains stable, and that the Government are closely monitoring the situation.

[Clive Jones]

Data published this week in The Guardian revealed that 50% more raw sewage was discharged by Thames Water last year than in the previous 12 months. Thames Water is racking up billions of pounds of expensive extraordinary debt, while continuing to pump tonnes of sewage into our rivers. Despite bold targets and kind words, there is simply no action on cleaning up our rivers. What will the Government do to improve Thames Water’s performance?

[Steve Reed]

The Government are taking steps to improve the performance of all water companies, including through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, which I spoke about earlier. Sir Jon Cunliffe is leading a review of the entire sector, so that we can reform regulation and, if need be, the regulator, to ensure that they are fit for purpose.