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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that water companies prepare for cold weather; whether his Department plans to improve the provision of information to consumers on disruption to water supplies; and whether his Department is taking steps to compensate people who experienced disruption to their water supply.

Companies have a statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers under the Water Industry Act 1991 and water company licences, plus any special requirements to service vulnerable customers. They also have a statutory duty to plan to balance supply and demand over the long-term (25 years minimum). Companies should be planning to be resilient to all foreseeable risks, including severe weather and in response to climate change projections and population growth.

Water customers are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service. If a company fails to meet any of the guaranteed standards, customers are entitled to a payment under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). Ofwat may also take enforcement action against the companies it regulates where these companies fail to comply with their statutory duties and licence obligations. Ofwat will work with the water companies to establish whether licence conditions have been breached and to what extent the GSS regulations require them to make compensation payments.

Ofwat is reviewing formally the performance of the companies during this period once the situation is restored to normal. This will be a thorough review and as well as identifying problems, Ofwat will identify excellent examples of practice and preparation shared across the sector. The review will include consideration of planning for such cold weather events and customer communications. The government will consider any recommendations from the review and act decisively to address any shortcomings exposed.

Ofwat will also consider as part of the review whether the companies have proactively provided fair and speedy compensation to customers. The government has made clear to water companies that it expects them to use their discretion to offer compensation to customers, recognising the impacts that they have experienced.