Yorkshire Water CEO Liz Barber has welcomed the Government’s strategic policy statement (SPS) for Ofwat but has called for it to go further to enable the regulator and water companies to tackle a range of challenges with the scale and urgency required.
The utility company is calling for:
- Clarity on how Ofwat should manage trade-offs between competing priorities and its duties.
- Introduction of additional accountability, including a stronger and more frequent role for Parliament.
- Straightforward regulatory changes which could support partnership working as the norm, rather than the exception
- Streamlining of the regulatory process for water to increase public confidence and allow the sector to innovate.
Liz said: “The SPS comes at a critical moment for both the water industry and the country. The UK is facing significant new social, environmental, and economic challenges, many of which require action to be taken now to avoid even more severe consequences in the future.
“Climate change is already causing more extreme weather events, increasing flooding incidents and droughts. Population growth will put further pressure on current infrastructure, increasing the need to invest to build a resilient water sector. We also face wider economic challenges arising from the Covid pandemic, exacerbating inequalities within our communities and putting a major burden on the next generation.
“We broadly welcome the SPS but believe some changes are needed. These are not fundamental changes to the regulation of the industry, but are straightforward changes to tackle four specific areas to help companies and regulators better deliver government priorities, improve transparency and accountability and unlock the power of public-private partnerships.”
Yorkshire Water’s response to the SPS, which outlines the changes it is calling for is available to view on their website.
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