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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Ofwat and (b) Thames Water on the potential merits of issuing penalties to Thames Water for alleged breaches of its license agreement in the context of its investment grade credit ratings.

The enforcement of licence conditions is a matter for Ofwat as the independent economic regulator. To remedy its licence breach in losing its investment grade credit ratings in 2024, Ofwat has confirmed it accepted an enforcement undertaking from Thames Water in August 2024 (Ofwat confirms actions for Thames Water following investment credit rating downgrade - Ofwat). These commitments will remain in place until the company regains two investment grade credit ratings.