MPs on the House of Commons  Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee  are set to discuss options for the future of water company ownership in England by questioning academics and experts on water sectors in other countries and UK nations in an evidence session beginning at 9.30 am this morning.    

There will be discussion on the performance of systems in Wales, where Welsh Water is a non-profit, and Scottish Water, a public corporation that takes loans from the Scottish government and contracts some infrastructure to companies including Veolia.

Witnesses will be asked whether a link can be made between ownership models used and performance on limiting pollution incidents and leaks, maintaining supply and value for money for customers. The panels may also be asked how other countries’ systems enable competition between providers and attracting private investment.

MPs may also ask questions about options such as mutualisation, a cooperative model promoted by campaigners in the UK.

There will also be discussion during the first panel about the history of ownership in England’s water sector, including the events before and after full privatisation from the 1989 Water Act and the impacts this had on infrastructure investment and the environment.

Witnesses  appearing before the Committee from 9.30:    

• Dr David Lloyd Owen, Managing Director at Envisager
• Hugh Goldsmith, former water director at European Investment Bank and visiting Professor at College of Europe
• John Abraham, Chief Operating Officer for Industrial Water and Energy, Veolia

From 10.30:

• Dr Marine Colon, researcher at AgroParisTech and the UMR G-EAU research unit in France
• Professor Klaas Schwartz, Professor of Water Services Governance at IHE Delft, Netherlands

From 11.00:

• David Henderson, CEO, Water UK
• Professor David Saal, Professor of Microeconomics at Loughborough University
• Professor Ewan McGaughey, Professor of Law at Kings College London
• David Hall, Visiting Professor, University of Greenwich, Public Services International Research Unit

Act decisively on Thames Water, EFRA Chair tells government

Last Friday EFRA Committee Chair Alistair Carmichael MP called on the government to act decisively on the future of Thames Water, amid reports that its creditors may issue new debt that would allow the company to continue operating into autumn 2027.

It comes after the Committee published a report in September urging the government to either put the company into Special Administration or to consider emergency legislation that takes control of its financial affairs before more appropriate owners can be found.

Alistair Carmichael said:

“The government has talked a lot about taking control of Thames Water. Customers will be incredulous if the company’s creditors are now able to pile on another multi-billion pound debt injection while the government does nothing. Any added debt on the company’s books also makes Thames an even more painful problem to solve.

“The EFRA Committee does not believe that Thames’ creditors have the company’s, the public’s or the environment’s best interests at heart. As we said in our recent report, the government needs to act decisively to draw a line under this sorry saga.”

Click here to watch the evidence session live on on Parliamentlive.tv   or to catch up later