Shadow DEFRA Minister and Epping Forest MP Dr Neil Hudson urged the Government not to miss a crucial opportunity to toughen water industry regulation and protect consumers, during the final House of Commons stages of the Water (Special Measures) Bill this week.
Dr Hudson has an extensive track record of seeking the water industry clean up its act. He sat on the previous Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, directly questioning water company executives and stakeholders about high bonuses for chief executives and rising water bills, at the expense of failing to protect water quality and poor financial resilience.
As a Member of the Conservative Environment Network, Dr Hudson pushed to turn the situation around with key policy changes that were successfully implemented by the previous Conservative Government, including calling for fines for water companies who breach their obligations to have no fixed limit, a Water Restoration Fund that would require those fines to pay for community projects that improve water quality and forbidding bonuses for chief executives of water companies that commit criminal breaches.
In the Water (Special Measures) Bill debate, as Shadow DEFRA Minister on the front bench for the Bill in the Chamber and previously in Committee stage, Dr Hudson advanced several key amendments to the Bill on behalf of the Opposition, which would have strengthened regulations on water companies and protected consumers from higher prices at the expense of inadequate service. Amendments proposed by the Conservatives would specifically have:
- Legally mandated that fines recovered from water companies who fail to meet their duties be reinvested in the Water Restoration Fund.
- Required consumer bills be reduced where water companies have received fines.
- Limited water company borrowing levels to prevent overleveraging that puts their financial resilience in jeopardy.
- Prevented the Government from allowing consumer bills to rise to recover Government costs of providing financial support, where those customers do not use the company affected.
The Government chose to reject all of these amendments.
Following the Remaining Stages of the Bill, Dr Hudson commented:
“Unfortunately, rather than drive meaningful change, the Government have rejected our Conservative improvements to this Water (Special Measures) Bill, which largely draws on our measures already introduced in the last Parliament by the previous Conservative Government”
“Measures in this Bill such as blocking exorbitant bonuses for company executives whose companies have committed serious breaches have all already been introduced by the previous Conservative Government.”
“The Government have missed several opportunities to make a difference. Not mandating the Water Restoration Fund by law means whether local communities can improve water quality is at the mercy of the Treasury. Meanwhile consumers are at serious risk of having to pay for the Government’s Special Administration Orders when companies fail to manage their finances, even if you do not use that company.”
This Bill was a missed opportunity from the Government to turn words into proper action, and I will continue to hold the Government to account to ensure it drives better performance from our water companies to protect our precious environment.”
You can see Dr Hudson’s full response to the Water (Special Measures) Bill at the following:
Parliamentlive.tv from 16:49:20 at: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/3ed548c2-9b6b-4af0-8091-a4fc5508ef77#player-tabs
