Oral Answers to Questions

Sally Jameson Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

6. What steps she is taking to reform the water sector.

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to reform the water sector.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)]

The Government will publish a White Paper later this year outlining our vision for the future of the water sector, making the most fundamental reform of our water system in a generation. We are determined to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas to deliver better outcomes for consumers and the environment.

[Sally Jameson]

My constituents know the trouble the water industry is in. I have previously raised in this House the matter of bonuses of being given to Yorkshire Water executives in exchange for poor service. What will the Government do to fix the broken regulatory system so that the failures of the past do not happen again?

[Emma Reynolds]

I thank my hon. Friend for her campaigning on this issue. We recognise the scale of the challenge facing our water system and are taking decisive action to reset the sector. We will create a single powerful water regulator, abolishing Ofwat and ending the fragmentation that led to the abuses of the past. As my hon. Friend refers to, we have already banned polluting water bosses from taking bonuses, which we did early in our time in government with the passing of the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025.