That this House condemns the provisional approval by Ofwat of an average 21% above-inflation rise in water bills over five years designed to fund £88 billion in sewage infrastructure upgrades; notes that this follows water companies extracting £85 billion in shareholder profits since privatisation, while amassing £64.4 billion in debt; further notes that since privatisation, in real terms, shareholders have withdrawn almost 60% of the original shareholder capital instead of investing; also notes that water companies have been lobbying for bill rises of an average of 40%; expresses concern that 40% of households surveyed by the Consumer Council for Water say they would already struggle to afford the provisionally approved 21% bill hikes, with many indicating they would cut back on essentials like food to pay their water bills; further condemns record levels of sewage spills, including 10 million litres pumped into Lake Windermere by United Utilities in February, continuous sewage discharges from a Thames Water facility in Oxfordshire, and the failure of Southern Water to provide water to 32,000 households over five days due to a burst main; calls on the Government to stop bill rises and suspend Ofwat’s price review process until its own Commission has reported in 2025; further calls on the Government to hold water companies to account, including banning dividends and bonuses until sewage discharges are resolved; and also calls on the Government to declare water a basic right, ensuring affordability and sustainability for all.
Signatories (26)
- Clive Lewis Sponsor
- Dr Roz Savage
- Kim Johnson
- Cat Eccles
- Mary Kelly Foy
- Neil Duncan-Jordan
- Grahame Morris
- Jon Trickett
- Ian Byrne
- Ellie Chowns
- Jim Shannon
- Steve Witherden
- Jess Brown-Fuller
- John McDonnell
- Richard Burgon
- Julia Buckley
- Brian Leishman
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy
- Kate Osborne
- Iqbal Mohamed
- Carla Denyer
- Rachael Maskell
- Ayoub Khan
- Siân Berry
- Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
- Adrian Ramsay