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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to revise the legal framework for the Strategic Policy Statement and replace this with a new Ministerial Statement of Water Industry Priorities.

The Government will respond to the recommendations published in the final report of the Independent Water Commission through a White Paper and a new water reform bill, including reforms to the Strategic Policy Statement. We will bring forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. Together with the building blocks the Government has already put in place, this will mark the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.