Independent Water Commission

Tim Farron Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement, and Sir Jon Cunliffe for his report and for his work in producing it. The Liberal Democrats have long argued for the abolition of Ofwat, and for the creation of a new, consolidated and powerful regulator. In fact, we put it to the Public Bill Committee and it was supported by neither the Labour party nor the Conservative party, but today’s proposal seems to include doing just that, so we strongly welcome the statement. It is a reminder to the wonderful volunteers and water campaigners across the country that their work is absolutely worth while and has made a huge difference. My message to them is: thank you so much and keep going, because we still do not know the details and the nature of the new regulator, and we still see no sign in the report of any plan to tackle the toxic nature of the water industry’s ownership structure.

Why is there no plan to change the structure of the industry itself? Even the best regulator in the world will fail if water companies are still owned by those who care nothing for the quality of the lakes, rivers and seas, and who care only about making as much profit as possible in return for very little investment. Is it really acceptable to ask bill payers for a 30% rise when there is no guarantee that the water company will not be siphoning off huge chunks of that money in dividends, pay rises or bonuses? Why is there nothing in the statement that will truly empower the volunteers, citizen scientists and water campaigners I just mentioned? Why are we not giving places on water company boards to the likes of the Eden Rivers Trust, the South Lakes Rivers Trust, Save Windermere, the Clean River Kent Campaign, Surfers Against Sewage and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, known as WASP? Why is there no mention of monitoring the volume of sewage spills as well as the number of incidences, and no mention of including legally binding pollution reduction targets?

Although the statement is welcome and we rightly celebrate the Liberal Democrat campaign wins that it is full of, our job as a constructive and effective Opposition is to scrutinise the detail and to carry on campaigning to clean up our waterways and our water industry too. That is exactly what we shall do.

[Steve Reed]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions. I echo and endorse his comments about the volunteers and citizen scientists who carried out fantastic work to ensure that this issue remained where it needed to be, which was right at the top of the political agenda. I hope that they will join us in welcoming Sir Jon’s report.

There will be a White Paper and a consultation alongside it. We will launch the White Paper in the autumn, giving detailed Government responses to the 450-page report. With 88 recommendations, there is a lot to go through, but the report includes proposals about ownership, which will be consulted on as well. Volunteers and citizen scientists will be able to engage for the first time through the proposed regional structures. We accept that proposal in principle, and the detail of it will be worked through during the consultation. For the first time, there will be engagement on the catchment of entire river systems, and citizens, local authorities and businesses will all have a voice in that, as will members of the farming community operating within those catchments.

I believe that by reducing the number of spills we will also reduce the volume of spills. The hon. Gentleman will be able to monitor that, and he will be able to hold me to account, as will the House and the public, as we work towards the target that I have outlined for reducing sewage spills from water companies by 50% by 2030. He of course is lucky enough to represent one of the most beautiful parts of the country, including Windermere, and we are working with United Utilities to remove all sources of pollution from that beautiful, iconic lake, so that what became a story of decline can become a visible symbol of renewal with this Government.