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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing Thames Water into special administration.

The Government and Ofwat – the financial regulator for the water sector – are carefully monitoring the situation, and Ofwat continues to engage with Thames Water.

The company remains stable, and it would be inappropriate to comment in detail on hypotheticals – however it is important to provide reassurance that the Government is prepared for all scenarios across all our regulated industries – as any government should be.