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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has issued on compensation for farmers for (a) crop loss, (b) soil compaction and (c) business interruption caused by (i) leaks and (ii) repair works on water undertakers’ apparatus on private farmland; and whether she plans to review those arrangements.

Under the Water Industry Act 1991, Section 181, Ofwat has powers to determine particular customer disputes about how companies go about undertaking work on their assets in private land.

Ofwat can determine compensation of up to £5,000 in relation to:

1. failure of the company to consult adequately before or in the course of exercising their work in private land powers, or
2. acting unreasonably in how they exercise those powers, causing the complainant to sustain loss or damage or to be subjected to inconvenience.

Furthermore, this Government took decisive action to increase customer protections by updating the Guaranteed Standards Scheme which came into force 2 July 2025, increasing customer compensation by more than double when they have been failed by water companies.

The standards, outlined in the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, set out a baseline for customer service in the water sector. They include providing timely restoration of water supply following an interruption, responding to written complaints and managing the risk of sewer flooding.