Coffey slammed for lack of meetings with water bosses

Environment secretary Therese Coffey held just one official meeting with representatives of the water sector during her first six months in the role, despite growing public anger of the sector’s performance and mounting scrutiny on companies’ financial resilience.

Opposition politicians have subsequently questioned the priorities of the Department for environment, food and rural affairs, following Utility Week’s analysis of Coffey’s publicly available ministerial diaries.

Coffey’s diaries from October 2022 to the end of March 2023 reveal that the one recorded meeting she did hold took place shortly before Christmas.

It was in the form of a roundtable meeting with bosses at Northumbrian, Southwest, Southern, Thames and Yorkshire to discuss their performance following the publication of Ofwat’s water company performance report. Water minister Rebecca Pow also attended that meeting.

The lack of meetings with the water industry has been described as “sad” and “hardly a surprise” by opposition politicians.

Liz Twist, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for water (APPG) described Coffey’s lack of engagement with the sector as “absolutely extraordinary”.

“Water is such an important issue to the whole of the country – if effects every single person – and there are some real pressures so it seems extraordinary that she shouldn’t be meeting with water companies and organisations on the really urgent need to get some work going and get answers to the problems we are facing,” Labour MP Twist told Utility Week.

“It’s sad to see that the secretary of state isn’t taking a greater hands-on interest in water and resolving some of the real problems that we face,” Twist said. “These are things that we’ve discussed in the chamber so many times so she will know the strength of feeling on it and it deserves attention.”

During the same six month period, Coffey had four meetings with the National Farmers Union (NFU) to discuss issues facing the sector, inflation and the Environment Improvement Plan but her diary of official meetings does not record any equivalent discussions with members of the water sector.

However, despite the lack of recorded meetings, Defra claims Coffey is in regular contact with the water industry and has attended more meetings since the end of March (however the data is not publicly available yet).

A Defra spokesperson said: “The Environment Secretary meets with water companies, Water UK, and regulators on a regular basis –  including a meeting with the new chair of Thames Water earlier this month – and this will continue to take place as part of our efforts to ensure they deliver for customers.

“We have been clear with the water industry that improvements need to be made – and that is why the Environment Secretary called in the worst polluters and has also demanded action plans for every storm overflow to ensure deliverability and we expect all overflows to be monitored by the end of this year.”

Coffey also met with supermarkets individually and in roundtables to discuss supply chain problems this spring, as well as holding meetings with agricultural groups, food producers and other participants in food production sector.

Separately, Coffey attended a meeting with The Times editor Tony Gallagher “to discuss crustacean in the North East of England”.

Twist said the APPG would have hoped to see Coffey take more official meetings with representatives of the industry as well as its regulators to highlight the key issues that the public are concerned about.

“There are many issues facing the water industry that really need addressing,” Twist said, adding that she would have expected more engagement from the environment secretary on Thames Water’s recent financial instability as well as taking a greater role in assisting Ofwat. “I would like to see the secretary of state having a real hands on input into addressing some of those problems quite urgently.

“We need to see the secretary of state taking a keen interest in these issues and taking an active part is absolutely essential.”

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron added: “It is hardly a surprise that Therese Coffey has failed to meet with water company bosses. The Conservatives have allowed water companies to get away with dumping sewage into our rivers, lakes and coastlines for years and they’re still not taking it seriously.

“We need to see urgent action to stop sewage dumping, including replacing Ofwat with a new powerful regulator, reforming water companies into ‘public benefit corporations’ and banning bonuses for sewage bosses.”

During the same period, Pow met with Ofwat’s chief executive David Black twice including to discuss water company underspend, and its chair Iain Coucher once. She also met with South East Water to discuss the freeze thaw event in December.

Former environment secretary George Eustice met with water company bosses last summer during the drought. Ranil Jayawardena, during his short term as environment secretary in Liz Truss’ government, did not have any meetings with water companies or associated groups according to the published diaries.

Pow’s predecessor Steve Double met with South West Water and its parent company Pennon, which is based in his constituency. He also met with Affinity Water in August to discuss safeguarding water supplies into the autumn and winter.