Privatisation; “light touch” regulation; underfunded environment agency; dire opinion polls, followed by a “Whoopsie” moment for Simon.
Flushing the problem down the drain and out to sea until 2035 is too little too late!
South West Water says now is the time to create a “green jobs” G7 legacy (9 June 2021)
“Pennon, the South West’s biggest employer and parent company of South West Water, has written a report on behalf of the Great South West calling for the region not to be overlooked in the Government’s plans to level up the country. The report demands a “green jobs boom” to stop the brain drain of talented young people leaving the region.”
In this report, Susan Davy, CEO of Pennon, said, without a hint of irony:
“South West Water is making its own contribution to this with its Green Recovery Initiative, supporting the creation of up to 500 additional jobs over the next four years and taking extra action on the most pressing environmental issues that our customers tell us they care about most .We need to encourage more private investment into the region and we can do that by working closely with Government on a levelling up plan for the whole of the South West.”
Back to Simon Jupp and his inspired questions
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by Ofwat entitled Water Company Performance Report 2021-22, published in December 2022, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure that underspend is invested by water companies into reducing sewage discharges.
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- (Citation: HC Deb, 10 February 2023, cW)
Rebecca Pow The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ofwat’s findings that water companies are not spending investment assigned to make service improvements is completely unacceptable. Overall, water companies have only spent 61% of their forecasted wastewater enhancement cost allowance during 2020-22, which has resulted in delaying crucial wastewater infrastructure to improve water resilience and the environment.
Yorkshire Water and South West Water have only spent 20% and 39% of their allowance, respectively. The SoS and I met with the CEOs of these two companies in December to discuss their performance.
I am aware that the COVID pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine have impacted on supply chains, but other water companies are exceeding their spend and I expect all water companies to urgently get their spending back on track and implement the upgrades to water and wastewater infrastructure they have been funded to deliver and that customers rightly expect. I will continue to meet with the CEOs of underperforming companies to monitor their progress.
Ofwat, as the economic regulator for the water industry, has been clear that where these expectations are not met and companies are failing to comply with their obligations, they will take action, including enforcement action where warranted.
Simon Jupp Conservative, East Devon
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published on 26 August 2022, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce combined sewer overflow discharges in (a) inland and (b) coastal waters.
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- (Citation: HC Deb, 10 February 2023, cW)
Rebecca Pow The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction plan will require water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history – £56 billion capital investment over 25 years – to significantly reduce sewage discharges.
Our plan prioritises areas at risk of the greatest ecological harm first, to ensure we have the biggest impact, as quickly as possible. Our targets will ensure that no water body in England should fail to achieve good ecological status due to storm overflow discharges. We have prioritised action for storm overflows discharging near or into inland and coastal bathing waters. By 2035, water companies must significantly reduce harmful pathogens from storm overflows discharging into and near designated inland and coastal bathing waters.
Simon Jupp Conservative, East Devon
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of sustainable urban drainage schemes that are (a) in full operation and (b) under construction in England.
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- (Citation: HC Deb, 10 February 2023, cW)
Rebecca Pow The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The number of sustainable urban drainage schemes that are in full operation or under construction in England is not held by my department.
East Devon Watch 