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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2023 to Question 191942 on Ofwat: Managers, what powers Ofwat has to enforce temporary restrictions on former employees; and on how many occasions Ofwat has placed temporary restrictions on former employees in each of the last five years.

Ofwat staff considering accepting a role in a water company complete a business appointment rules (BAR) application prior to accepting any role where the BAR may be engaged. Employees must comply with the BAR after leaving office for the period for which they apply. In most cases that period is one year and for senior level employees the period is two years.

Ofwat has placed temporary restrictions on 17 employees in the last five years (April 2018 to July 2023). Three of these were for a two-year period and the remainder for up to one year. Only four related to a move to a water company directly from Ofwat's employment.

Ofwat, as a Civil Service employer, complies with the BAR guidance, which does not contain any requirement for organisations to inform Ofwat if they employ a former Ofwat employee. However, in line with the guidance, Ofwat’s responsibilities are to put in place any temporary restrictions for a specified period and share the nature of the restrictions and timeframes with the persons new employer.

Neither Ofwat nor the Government collects information relating to future roles of former Ofwat employees who have left Ofwat.