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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the accountability of water company executives for water service failures.

The Water (Special Measures) Act will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under tough special measures, by strengthening regulation as a first legislative step towards improving the sector. The Act will:

• Strengthen regulation to ensure water bosses face personal criminal liability for lawbreaking.
• Give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met.
• Introduce new powers to bring automatic and severe fines.
• Require water companies to install real-time monitors at every sewage outlet with data independently scrutinised by the water regulators.
• Give Ofwat the power to set rules to increase customer representation in decision-making to hold companies to account.

Following public consultation, the Government confirmed on 17 December 2024 the introduction of new and increased statutory payment rates, which will ensure that customers get at least double the previous amounts or more when water service standards are not met.

These reforms underscore this Government’s commitment to hold water companies to account for poor performance and to stand up for consumers who receive compromised water services. Water customers around the country will benefit from significantly higher payments to compensate them for water company service failures.