That’s the stark take from today’s Times.

Cunliffe’s report said there was no “single, simple change, no matter how radical, that will reset the water sector and restore the trust that has been lost”. As a result, his report contains a total of 88 recommendations

Households must be prepared to accept a decade of above-inflation bills to fix Britain’s “failing” water system and cope with extra demand, the architect of government reforms has said.

In a warning to ministers who have pledged to hold down bills Sir Jon Cunliffe said that costs were “rising” in the water system and suggested the government needed to be honest about who would pay.