MPs slam Water White Paper’s ‘lack of ambition and urgency’

Government is not acting fast enough on unsustainable abstraction or metering. That was the key message emerging from an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee inquiry into the Water White Paper.

The committee’s report, published today, welcomed plans to increase competition in the water industry but said government proposals would fail to deliver a well-functioning retail market.

MPs also called for firm action on bad debt and a more proactive approach to supporting poorer customers.

Committee chair Anne McIntosh said: “We heard persuasive evidence about the environmental damage unleashed by over-abstraction. The government’s current plans – to reform the abstraction regime by the mid-to-late 2020s – will not take effect rapidly enough given that our rivers are already running dry.”

The absence of a target to increase levels of water metering was described as “extremely disappointing”.

“It’s hard to see how the white paper’s call for water to be managed as a precious resource can be reconciled with the lack of any clear target to increase metering levels,” said McIntosh.

On plans to allow non-domestic customers to choose their supplier, the committee recommended government “should not delay reforms because of an overcautious approach to investor confidence”.

The environment department (Defra) should open the Anglo-Scottish retail market three years from getting the necessary legislation passed, it said. That is later than Ofwat’s initial suggestion of April 2015 but potentially sooner than the Scottish regulator’s advised date of April 2017.

The report urged government to implement legislation to help tackle the “simply unacceptable” levels of bad debt without further delay. Defra is considering a voluntary alternative, which was roundly criticised by the industry as unlikely to work.

Responding to the report, Labour accused government of “dragging its feet” on water reforms.