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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to investigate any possible conflicts of interests created by PriceWaterhouseCooper acting as (1) an adviser to Ofwat’s 2014 Price Review, and (2) an auditor to six water companies.

The Government currently has no plans to investigate any possible conflicts of interests in relation to role of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) as adviser to the 2014 Price Review (PR14).

Following a process of open competition, after which PwC was contracted as their PR14 delivery partner, Ofwat took steps to ensure that any potential conflicts of interest were identified and managed at all stages. The measures taken were over and above PwC’s normal processes to ensure robust ethical walls are in place.