Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will take steps to ensure that customers of Welsh Water resident in England and Wales receive consistent standards of service from that company.

Welsh Water is already required in law to provide all customers in England and Wales with the same levels of service.

Responsibility for water and sewerage companies operating wholly or mainly in Wales is a devolved matter. The regulation of Welsh Water is therefore a matter for the Welsh Government.

Section 48 of the Wales Act 2017, when commenced, will align Senedd Cymru/the Welsh Parliament’s responsibilities for water and sewerage with the England-Wales border. The UK Government and Welsh Government are currently discussing when this change should be made. Welsh Water’s ability to sell water to customers in England and Wales will be unaffected by this change.

The joint Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality made under the Wales Act 2017 came into effect on 1 April 2018. It provides a mechanism to enable both UK Government and Welsh Government to work together on cross-border issues to avoid any serious adverse impact on water resources, water supply or water quality in England or in Wales.