Water Companies: Investment

(asked on 23rd January 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the £104 billion of private investment referred to in ‘A new vision for water’, published January 2026, that will be spent across each region of England and Wales.


Answered by
Emma Hardy Portrait
Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 28th January 2026

Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, monitors and reports on water company spending and financing through its annual performance report and its monitoring and financial resilience report. These documents are publicly available.

Ofwat’s five-yearly ‘price review’ sets the price, investment and service package for water companies in England and Wales. Ofwat’s Price Review 2024 (PR24) final determination by water company can be found here: Final determinations in the 2024 price review - Ofwat. This publication sets out the investment programme by water company, and therefore by region.

The Government has set out its new vision for water through a White Paper published on 20 January 2026. The White Paper sets out once in a generation reforms that will transform the water system for good, with a renewed focus on securing a fair deal for customers, investors, and the environment, to rebuild trust and secure a water system that works for everyone.

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