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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of whether Ofwat's regulatory framework is sufficiently flexible to accommodate mutually owned water companies.

We committed in the White Paper to make it easier for companies to change ownership model where they wish to do so, including to not-for-profit or mutual models. If a company’s owners propose changes to their ownership model, the new regulator will assess any proposals carefully against transparent criteria.