Yorkshire Water's one-star rating is unacceptable - here's how we will hold them to account: Angela Eagle
Every month, without fail, you pay your water bill. Every day, you turn on the shower, tap or bath. Water is a vital utility that we all need and that sits at the heart of daily life. Yet people have no say in how it is run, delivered or improved. That is wrong, and I am changing it.
This month's report on how water companies are performing made difficult, but sadly unsurprising reading. For decades, the water industry has failed to work for the people and places it was meant to serve. Behind each serious pollution incident is a river, beach or community like the cherished River Ouse. I share Yorkshire's desire to see change now, not kicked down the road, and we are creating a radical new water system that will put public interest first.
Yorkshire Water is one of the worst-performing companies, and its one-star rating is unacceptable. Pollution is far too high, with too many serious incidents. Improvements in some areas, like leakage, do not excuse persistent failings elsewhere. I welcome the company’s management accepting responsibility for its underperformance, but Yorkshire Water must show how the record investment approved for 2025 to 2030 will lead to visible improvements for customers and the environment.
That’s why we are, for the first time, giving people a say over how the water system works in their local area. This week I announced eight regional water councils. Local leaders will work with you, the public, to help set the priorities for the region.
These new regional water councils will bring together local leaders, customers and businesses to set the priorities for their region, helping shape billions of pounds of investment in water and flood infrastructure. Elected representatives will be given a leading role within the group to champion you the customer, hold water companies to account and shape long-term investment.
For Yorkshire, that could mean planning for a more reliable water supply for customers, and more targeted action to manage flooding in the areas most at risk.
Having a say also means real consequences for failing water companies, and we are already holding them to account. The strengthened Water Bill will give mayors new powers to hold water companies to account for their performance. Where Yorkshire Water fail to perform, we are holding them to higher account with new powers for automatic fines, and the introduction of criminal liability for water bosses who cover up or hide sewage spills.
We are making it clear that repeated failure has serious repercussions. Private companies must serve the public interest, and where they do, we will support them. But if they do not, all options must be on the table to fix them.
This is about shifting power out of Westminster and back into the hands of local people. We do it by trusting communities and their local leaders to influence priorities and challenge bosses over bills and sewage discharge. All of this is underpinned by the radical reforms we are leading from government, to overhaul a system in which shareholders never lose and customers never win
The failures of the industry are real, and so is the anger they have caused. People want to know that the rivers and beaches they love are being protected, and that their bills are being spent well. Now they will have a voice in making that happen. Tell us what matters most where you live and help us get it right.
Dame Angela Eagle is Environment Secretary