Current water system doesn’t work for anyone, independent commission acknowledges

The UK's Independent Water Commission has launched a call for evidence to inform recommendations to deliver an ambitious, long-term reset to the sector.

Civil servants, policy professionals and representatives from across the water industry recently gathered in Manchester for the launch.

In his speech, commission chair Sir Jon Cunliffe acknowledged that the sector faces significant challenges. While England and Wales enjoy world-class drinking water, public trust and satisfaction are low, and investment in infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with climate or societal change.

What is the commission gathering evidence on?

The commission wants to hear from the public and industry professionals about areas for potential improvement.

These include everything from how adjacent sectors, such as agriculture and transport, should be involved in addressing existing challenges, to simplifying the regulatory framework.

The commission wants to gain insights on a variety of issues, including:

• Competing ‘masters’ of the system – it is not clear who is in charge;
• The lack of a clear decision-making framework to weigh competing interests;
• The lack of nuance when it comes to different areas’ geographical characteristics; and
• How the regulatory system can be simplified, and how it should be held accountable.

Rebuilding trust with the public is also key.

In the UK’s current system, water companies look after assets that serve the public and are effective monopolies.

The commission has acknowledged that there should be clear expectations about financial resilience.

Operational resilience was described as ‘equally important’.

Key questions include whether failure metrics give an accurate picture of systems’ resilience and whether there’s a case for setting national resilience standards, as the ICE has called for.

Re-nationalisation isn’t on the table

Since the government announced this root and branch review of the sector, it’s been clear that re-nationalising water companies wasn’t something that would be considered.

Sir Jon re-emphasised this and suggested that the issues facing the sector would exist regardless of who owns and manages companies and assets.

He described what England and Wales need – a system that is trusted by the public, investors, and the sector. He said the commission would recommend whatever is needed to achieve that outcome.

He also said that every signal from the government shows that there’s a strong will for change. If legislation is required to make changes, then the government is open to this.

However, there’s no getting away from the fact that addressing the challenges of the water sector will also require significant investment.

While the commission will be able to advise on where resources are needed, it will be for others to agree budgets and how funding is allocated.

Still, the call for evidence gives the public and interested stakeholders an excellent opportunity to help shape the sector’s future.

Have your say

View the full call for evidence.

Please note respondents do not have to answer every question. They can skip those that aren’t relevant to them.

It will be open until midnight, Wednesday 23 April 2025.

The ICE is also feeding into the call for evidence. Check back here for updates.